


Souvenirs We Brought Back From Ember Island

by JasmineTeaLatte



Series: Gifts the Moonlight Gave Us [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkwardness, Ember Island (Avatar), F/M, Fluff, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Implied/Referenced Sex, Katara and Zuko (Avatar) are Parents, Mild Sexual Content, So Much Awkwardness, TOW All the “Friends” References, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unplanned Pregnancy, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:35:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27064267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasmineTeaLatte/pseuds/JasmineTeaLatte
Summary: a.k.a. The One where the Gaang finally finds out about certain events that took place the last night at the beach house, thanks to the news of an unexpected souvenir from that evening... namely, the new, unborn heir to the Fire Nation, who Katara just happens to be carrying.Set during and after the events of “Moonlight In Her Hands”
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Series: Gifts the Moonlight Gave Us [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971925
Comments: 268
Kudos: 571





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As requested, here's the fic with the fallout of the Gaang finding out about Katara and Zuko's secret midnight rendezvous during the last night at the beach house, not to mention everyone learning about the unexpected souvenir they accidentally brought back with them.
> 
> So buckle up and pop some popcorn, because this is going to get MESSY... but I'll try to make it fun, too, as much as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one take place during the events of Ch. 4 of "Moonlight In Her Hands," so you may want to read that to help everything make sense, especially for the twist towards the end.

Sokka had witnessed many unusual and outright bizarre things ever since he and his sister accidentally set the Avatar and his flying bison free from that iceberg nearly three years ago.

He had seen massive libraries buried in deserts, and he’d visited the long-abandoned Southern and Western Air Temples and the recently reinhabited Northern Air Temple. He'd also seen the terrifying Unagi of Kyoshi Island and the dreaded Serpent from the Serpent's Pass, not to mention a whole host of other exotic animals.

The youngest warrior from the Southern Water Tribe had also witnessed phenomena he’d never even dreamed could have existed during their travels.

Sokka had watched as the first girl he truly loved gave her life to become the Moon Spirit, and that very same night he saw Aang fuse with the Ocean Spirit to wipe out an entire Fire Nation fleet.

At one point, Sokka had even visited the Spirit World, albeit entirely by accident.

Yet absolutely none of that prepared him for the sight of the Fire Prince, their former enemy no less, darting around in the beach house kitchen with the biggest, _dopiest_ -looking grin on his face.

Sokka could have sworn that he was _humming_ , too. Since when did Mr. I’m-Never-Happy hum? It was almost terrifying, to be honest.

He knew his easily irritated friend was capable of happiness and smiling in general, but it was still a rare occurrence and unnerving all the same. It was almost as unnatural as the thought of giving up meat forever.

(Sokka suppressed a shudder at the thought. Oh, the _horror_.)

Needless to say, the scene of Zuko looking downright cheerful was more than just a bit... surprising? Curious? A definite sign the end was near?

However, Sokka shrugged his shoulders before he trotted into the kitchen, curiosity getting the better of him. He was starving, and no force on earth could scare him away from food once he got hungry enough.

“Morning!” he announced with a yawn, stretching his arms outward. “Whatcha working on there, Sifu Hotman?”

At that, Zuko’s head whipped around to face him. An almost guilty blush colored his cheeks, all the way up to the tips of his ears, even on the scarred one.

Huh. That was weird. Then again, Zuko had always been a bit odd, even after becoming one of the good guys... although that could be chalked up to being socially awkward, the poor fella.

“Oh, um, hey Sokka,” he replied nervously.

His voice wasn’t entirely unfriendly, but Sokka got the distinct impression that his friend had been hoping to see someone else instead.

“I’m just making tea,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I can make you some too, if you’re thirsty.”

That sounded divine, actually. Sokka was still tired from Suki spending the night in his bedroom, and she’d worn him out like there was no tomorrow – which could technically be true, after all. He preferred not to think about the fate of the entire world resting on their small group’s shoulders just yet, however. It was still too early for all that.

“Tea sounds awesome,” Sokka agreed, plopping down in the nearest chair. “I’ll take some of whatever you’re making right now, actually. It smells really good.”

For some reason, Zuko’s face turned beet-red again and he furiously shook his head.

“Oh, um, no, you can’t… that’s actually for Katara,” he mumbled. “But I can brew you some more afterwards, if you want.”

… okaaaay. That was more than a little odd, Sokka thought with a raised eyebrow.

“Um, sure,” he said slowly. “What kind are you brewing for my sister?”

“It’s licorice root,” Zuko responded just a bit too quickly. “It’s got a really unique flavor, though, and you probably wouldn’t like it.”

Then why was he brewing it for Katara? Something seemed off, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

Zuko saw the look on his friend’s face and put on his best disarming smile. That too was a bit unusual, but then again, he’d been trying to be friendlier in general towards the rest of the gang, so it wasn’t the weirdest thing the prince had done all morning.

It reminded Sokka of when he found them hiding out at the Western Air Temple and clumsily offered to teach the Avatar firebending. The poor guy just had no social skills sometimes, but he was still alright, all things considered.

“Your sister mentioned wanting to try it before we left, so I thought I’d surprise her with a cup first thing this morning,” Zuko explained. “I thought you were her, actually, just a few minutes ago.”

Oh. That seemed harmless enough. Sokka’s Instincts told him there was still something strange afoot, but then again, he’d been wrong before.

Maybe he was still tired, after all. Suki had been _relentless_ , and somehow after all that she’d already managed to wake up before him and take whatever contraceptive-thing that ensured no illegitimate children in their future.

That had become her routine; she’d discreetly consume the stuff at some point during the morning after (he wasn’t entirely sure when or what it even was, to be honest, and had never thought to ask).

Then she’d sneak off to his bedroom the following night (further away from Toph's room, as a courtesy to their hypersensitive friend) long after everyone else had fallen asleep to begin the cycle anew.

Seriously, though, if they lived through all of this, Sokka had already made up his mind that he was going to marry her, and it wasn’t just because she managed to render him speechless the nights they came together.

She truly was some girl, the best he’d ever met actually, and he always found himself with the biggest, dorkiest grin on his face whenever he was around her.

… not unlike the look on Zuko’s face right now, actually.

Sokka’s blue eyes narrowed in mild suspicion… but that was crazy, there was no way…

~*~*~

He had seen a similar, love-struck almost look on the prince’s face once before, back when they’d been flying to the Boiling Rock and they’d discussed his ex-girlfriend Mai.

Before he’d gotten to know him better, Sokka had assumed the gloomy girl with the knives who sighed all the time was the perfect match for the grumpy prince who constantly brooded.

But then the two of them had shared Male Bonding Time with Hakoda, Chit Sang, and Haru during the last night at the Western Air Temple. They spent the evening chatting about life and women and the war and other manly topics long after the others went to bed.

After hearing how negative and... well, _blah_ his friend’s ex was, Sokka found himself pointing out that maybe the two of them weren’t that compatible after all, which the others had agreed with. Zuko had frowned thoughtfully at this but ultimately conceded to everyone else.

He was incredibly passionate, as the rest of them could attest; according to him, she had had no passion for anything. Opposites may attract but they didn't always make the best couples, Hakoda had advised in his best Wise Father Giving Important Life Advice Voice.

“Don’t worry, buddy, we’ll help ya find a really great girl if you want!” Sokka had proclaimed as well.

He'd emphasized that with a friendly clap on the back, much to the prince’s embarrassment, who mumbled that the gesture was appreciated but totally unnecessary, as a massive blush overtook his entire face.

It occurred to Sokka later that night before he drifted off to sleep that Zuko's own father probably never had a talk like that with him before or imparted kindly, well-meaning words of wisdom, either. Then their group had been attacked by Azula the very next morning, and Sokka was never more grateful for his own loving, relatively normal family.

Then, shortly after they relocated to the beach house, Sokka had noticed the prince’s eyes seemed drawn to Katara's presence more often than not. That could also be because he was still intimidated by her, though.

His little sister truly could be terrifying at times, and even after she’d forgiven their former enemy, Sokka knew his friend still walked on eggshells around her just to be on the safe side.

Surely it wasn’t because he liked her like _that_ , right? That was preposterous, after all… or was it? There was no point in jumping to baseless conclusions since he still technically didn't have proof, but...

~*~*~

He fixed his gaze on Zuko and gave him an Inquisitive Older Brother Look, which his friend noticed and returned with one of his own.

“You sure you’re okay?” Sokka asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice. “I’ve never seen you act this happy before. Who are you and what have you done with the real Zuko?”

His friend smiled and ducked his head.

“I guess I just woke up in a really good mood this morning,” he replied, his grin practically splitting his face in half. "It's a new day, and I'm feeling optimistic, like I could take on the whole world if I had to. What’s wrong with that?"

“Well, it’s a little weird,” Sokka blurted out, and the prince raised his eyebrow at that. “Sorry, it’s just... you’re always so serious or grouchy. But hey, we need all of the positive vibes we can get. I’m not used to it, but don’t let me rain on your parade.”

Zuko chuckled - since when did he _chuckle?_ \- and poured the tea into a cup.

“I’ll explain what's going on later,” he said, a dreamy look washing over his face as he started rinsing out the teapot. “Sorry buddy, I only made enough for Katara’s cup, but I’ll make more. What kind did you want?”

Sokka pondered this for a moment.

“Actually, I’ll take some licorice root too, I’m curious.”

The prince seemed to hesitate for a split second before he nodded and resumed grinning.

“You got it.”

The two then struck up a conversation about swords and swordfighting styles in general as the water heated and the tea steeped.

Sokka considered the Avatar as one of his best friends, but he really enjoyed having another guy his age around who appreciated the fine art of swordplay. Aang used to listen, eyes glazed over, as he’d drone on and on about the different types of blades and hilts and other random factoids, bless him.

Then Zuko joined their crew and suddenly Sokka found a kindred spirit who knew even more about swords than he did.

Sokka knew Aang was grateful that the two became close friends and he no longer had to sit through any more weapons lectures, although he never would have admitted it out of politeness.

He could be preachy and a know-it-all at times, but Aang was an alright guy too, Sokka thought.

Meanwhile, he was just a humble warrior from Southern Water Tribe, along with his best friends the Fire Prince and the Avatar. Who’d have ever thought?

~*~*~

Eventually, Sokka started rummaging around in the cabinets for something to munch on to satisfy his rumbling stomach. Katara was usually up by now and had breakfast ready, but it looked like everyone was on their own today.

Wait, was that...? Oh yeah, it was. Score!

“Hey, hey, hey, check it out!” Sokka announced, yanking his discovery out from the back of the shelf. “Fire flakes! Want some?”

He waved the bag in Zuko’s direction, who paused while pouring tea into Sokka’s cup to look up. When he saw them, he promptly made a face.

“Those are probably old, Sokka, there’s no telling how long they’ve been back there. I’d throw them away if I were you.”

“What?! No way I’m throwing these out. Who knows when I’ll get to have some again?”

Zuko shrugged.

“Suit yourself, but don’t come crying to me if they make you sick.”

He hesitated for a moment as Sokka struggled to open the bag.

“I’m think I’m going to go check on Katara and let her know the tea is ready,” Zuko said, suddenly looking nervous. “It’s not like her to sleep this late.”

“Want me to go with you?” Sokka asked before he finally ripped open the bag. “Aha! On second thought, never mind. I’m going to stay here and chow down on these bad boys.”

Zuko looked skeptical, yet slightly relieved for some reason.

“Seriously, you probably want to throw those out-”

“Buddy, I’ll be fine. Go wake up my lazy sister.”

At that, Zuko suddenly looked annoyed, which only gave credence to Sokka's earlier suspicions.

“She’s not lazy, Sokka, she’s probably just exhausted from taking care of everyone-”

“Dude. It was a joke. I know how hard she works, and believe me, I appreciate it. But it’s getting late, and she needs to wake up soon, we’ve got a busy few days ahead. We can't hang around here all morning.”

Zuko nodded and started to walk off.

“By the way, I’d give your cup a few more minutes before you drink it,” he cautioned. “It’s still really hot-”

“Yeah, yeah, go on, get out of here,” Sokka said absentmindedly, pouring a handful of fire flakes into his palm. “Be nice when you wake her up, though. She’s not a morning person at all. She might tackle you to the ground and have you begging for mercy by the time it’s all over.”

Zuko’s lips twitched upwards into a hint of a smirk but it quickly vanished. It wasn’t until after he’d left the room that Sokka realized how inappropriate that sounded and grimaced. Oh, that was bad.

The thought of his baby sister and his best friend… ugh. That was a mental image Sokka did not need to have, thank you very much.

(A month or so later, to his dismay he’d learn that was _exactly_ what Katara had already done to Zuko the night before, or vice versa; he really didn’t care to know the specifics either way. Yechhh.)

~*~*~

But in the present, at least he had these delicious fire flakes to take his mind off of – ew, ew, ewwww!

He promptly spit them back out, right into the trash can. Zuko had been right, these were expired and they were super-gross.

Sokka frantically gulped down glass after glass of water, but the awful taste still lingered. If only he had something else to wash it down with…

His gaze settled on the two cups of tea – one scalding, the other slightly less so – and he had an idea. His own cup was still too hot to drink right now, but Katara’s should be fine. Besides, they were the same exact drink, right?

He glanced around and shrugged to himself. It wasn’t like anyone would ever know the difference, after all. Besides, it smelled _delectable_ …

Sadly, he was sorely mistaken. It smelled far better than it tasted. 

He took a big gulp from Katara’s cup and almost spat that back out as well. Oh, is _that_ what licorice root tea was like? This was bitter and disgusting! His poor sister had no idea what she was getting herself into!

But it did get rid of the yucky taste of old fire flakes, at least. He took a couple more swallows just to make sure nothing lingered, and he debated for a moment before eventually pouring the rest of it down the drain.

Katara could just have the cup originally meant for him, he decided. If she wanted bitter, gross tea, then she could have it. This way, Zuko’s feelings wouldn’t get hurt either, seeing his less-than enthused reaction to the licorice root tea.

… still though, Sokka mused as he glanced at his cup of steaming hot tea. Zuko had seemed so excited about brewing it and showing off his tea-making abilities for Katara.

Sokka couldn’t just let his little sister drink the bitter stuff and have the same bad reaction he did in front of Zuko. The poor guy would probably be crushed, or something.

Wait... crush...

And suddenly, out of nowhere, all of the pieces finally fell into place, like why Zuko had seemed so eager to see Katara earlier and had been mildly disappointed to see him instead.

Sokka would be lying if he said he hadn't noticed before how his friend smiled, _genuinely_ smiled, whenever Katara was around, especially whenever the two of them talked to each other.

He also saw how the formerly antagonistic prince seemed far more eager to please, and how Zuko had jumped through hoops and did practically anything he could just to get back into Katara's good graces.

Not to mention the way Prince Pouty practically turned as soft as a koala sheep whenever she acted nice towards him...

... oh beautiful, magnificent and glorious Yue in the sky, _it was true after all_.

Zuko had the hots for Katara.

( _Ha_ , he thought in the back of his mind - the _hots_. Good one.)

Still though, somehow, some way, Sokka managed not to freak out upon this revelation, although he did let out a yelp of astonishment.

Okay, calm down, he thought to himself, gulping loudly. It's still just a theory at this point. Surely the prince was just doing a nice deed, there weren't any ulterior motives behind - okay, yes there were.

The Fire Prince _totally_ had a _crush_ on Katara, his sweet, innocent, baby sister.

_What.  
_

Although... Katara could do much worse, he supposed. Zuko was still a grouch but no longer the jerk he used to be, and he seemed to really care about her well-being. Plus, they were both so stubborn and passionate about the same things, and he did seem like the type who preferred girls more on the outspoken side, which Katara definitely was.

Huh. His best friend and his sister (assuming she felt the same way, that is.)

Now _that_ was a crazy combination, but if he was being honest... he wasn't _totally_ opposed to it.

So he did what any good big brother would do for his sibling or any guy would for his best buddy in situations like this, and he added a bunch of sugar and honey to the cup. Never let it be said he didn’t do anything nice or considerate for Katara or his friends.

It was just in time, too, because he heard his sister’s familiar footsteps right as he finished stirring it all in.

~*~*~

Sokka spun around and practically shoved the cup of tea into Katara's hands the second she sat down at the table, hoping and praying he didn’t sound too suspicious as he greeted her loudly and rather awkwardly.

He also noticed Zuko wasn't with her, to his slight chagrin, although he supposed his friend could have decided to go finish packing up his stuff or something. Had Sokka known he wasn't coming back, he could’ve just left the tea alone then and not gone to all that trouble sweetening it.

Oh, well. Maybe he’d at least scored some good karma with the universe for being such a selfless brother and first-rate best friend, to boot. 

Yet there was something… off… about Katara this morning. She behaved like the polar opposite of Zuko's exuberance earlier, and he had never seen her look so melancholy before.

She seemed out of it, too, staring off in a daze with watery eyes. When he finally got her attention, she practically bit his head off. Yeesh. To her credit though, she apologized immediately afterwards.

What had gotten into her this morning? It was like she and Zuko had swapped personalities, or something.

Speaking of...

Katara kept flinching whenever he brought up their friend's name and looked guilty for some reason when he described how happy the normally grumpy prince had been this morning. What was going on with everyone... _wait_.

He highly doubted what he was about to ask her was the case, but he still had to be sure.

“Is it about Zuko?" he finally asked, his eyes narrowing in concern. "Did he do something to you?”

“No, no,” she protested, wiping her eyes.

Thank goodness, he thought grimly, although he knew deep down his friend wouldn't do anything horrible like that, especially not to Katara. She'd probably kill any jerk who so much as tried before he even got to defend her honor as her older brother.

“It’s just… we had a fight, and I hurt his feelings really badly, and…” she trailed off.

Wait, when would they have had a fight? Just a short while ago? He knew his sister was a grump in the mornings but even she wasn't that mean, especially not to someone who brewed a cup of tea just for her...

Something _weird_ was going on, and Sokka's Instincts decided to investigate it further, even though he knew his sister would never outright confess to anything while in this state.

“And he made you this tea as a peace offering, right?” Sokka finished for her, raising his eyebrow.

The timing for that would be all wrong, but if she took the bait, that definitely meant something suspicious was going on between his sister and the Fire Prince. 

Katara nodded sadly.

_Oh, sis, you liar._

Well, that proved it then.

Zuko was the world’s worst at lying, and there was no way they would have had a fight last night or first thing this morning, not according to the timeline his sister was proposing. Not without the rest of them knowing about it.

If that had been the case, the prince would have been far more sullen earlier and more like his old, angry self, not like a ray of actual sunshine. They must have had the argument just now when he went to go check on her.

But now wasn’t the time to call Katara out on it, yet. Sokka may have played the fool at times but he was far more than a pretty face with bulging muscles that wouldn’t quit. It was his responsibility as her older brother to get to the bottom of it, and so he would, all in good time.

“Like you said, good thing you got this cup then,” he said soothingly. “Is that what you meant earlier, the thing you needed to do before we left? Talk it over with him?”

She nodded again, and he decided to change the subject, even though she didn't appear to be listening anymore. That was fine, though. It gave him the opportunity to muse things inwardly while chatting away about nothing at all.

Somehow, someway, Sokka was going to figure out exactly what was going on between his sister and Zuko.

At least she seemed to enjoy the tea, though. That was one small victory, he supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I was partially inspired by two classic episodes from Friends - namely, "The One Where Rachel Tells..." and "The One Where Everyone Finds Out."
> 
> In fact, this was originally going to be a completely separate (admittedly stupid) little one-shot where the rest of the Gaang finds out that Katara and Zuko are dating and react accordingly (cue Sokka's indigent "my best friend and my sister?!" quote.)
> 
> But then I decided that it wouldn't quite work out as a standalone - Aang's reaction certainly wouldn't be funny, for starters, it's going to be anything but - and so I chose to incorporate the more humorous aspects instead for moments of levity. 
> 
> I'll try to scale back on the goofier parts I originally intended to include to match the overall tone, but if it seems slightly more ridiculous than what I've written so far, that's why.


	2. Chapter 2

Suki surveyed the mess in her bedroom and let out a sigh. How she’d managed to accumulate so much stuff in such a short amount of time was beyond her.

She’d gotten lax during their stay at the beach house, clearly, and she had waited until the last possible minute to pack everything up.

Great job, Suki.

Well, no sense in putting it off any longer. She’d already snuck down to the kitchen this morning and drank a cup of silphium tea, so she had nothing left to do but get started on the task looming ahead of her.

She heard a door opening in the hallway, probably Katara’s from where the sound originated, and for a moment she was tempted into recruiting her friend into helping her pack.

Besides, it would give her a chance to ask if there was actually anything going on between the waterbender and the Fire Prince, who seemed to have some sort of crush on each other.

Despite their messy history, she personally thought they would be cute together, and if either of them ever fessed up to their feelings, she would be the first in line to help plan their wedding... but she was getting ahead of herself.

Yet no sooner had Suki started reaching for her door handle than she heard a small collision, as if two people bumped into each other. She then heard Zuko whispering something from out in the hallway, and his voice sounded so… _tender_. Was he talking to Katara?

Suddenly, Suki decided that packing could wait. She wanted to hear how this all played out. Maybe those two could finally admit they liked each other and actually do something about it.

Everyone else had figured it out, anyways, except for Sokka, but then again he never was the most observant when it came to things like this.

She and Toph had a small bet going, actually – she personally thought that Katara would make the first move, Toph thought Zuko would. There was no prize on the line, just bragging rights, and Suki hoped one of them would finally be declared the winner before the world ended.

Aang more or less had figured it out, too. He pretended like he didn't see the way those two looked at each other, but he couldn’t completely hide his frowns whenever his crush and his firebending teacher were near each other…

Wait, what were they talking about right now? 

Suki had gotten lost in her thoughts and distracted herself, and she realized she’d missed part of their conversation. Whoops. She quietly leaned against her door and listened in.

That was definitely Katara’s voice whispering, and she sounded… sad? Upset? Scared? Zuko didn’t sound all too happy now either, actually...

“So what was last night all about, then?” Suki heard him ask in a low, cold voice, and her eyes grew wide.

Wait, what?

“I don’t know,” Katara whispered.

“Because I think I at least deserve the right to know. Was I some kind of a distraction, or were you just using me so you could get off? Or maybe you just wanted to brag later about how you sweet-talked me into bed with you, or…?”

What. What? _What?!_

Suki clapped her hand over her mouth to cover up her squeal of shock. Fortunately, the two of them seemed to be too engrossed in their conversation to notice any sounds coming from her bedroom.

“Zuko, no! I promise, it’s not like that. I really do care about you.”

No. Way.

Katara and Zuko. Hooked up. Last night.

No.

_Way._

But her astonishment at that revelation was short-lived, though. It sounded like there had been some miscommunication or regret on Katara’s part. Oh, this was not good.

It looked like neither she nor Toph was technically going to win the bet since these two seemed to be on the outs, but that was the least of their worries right now.

Suki had talked with Katara about boys and intimacy before, and she knew her friend had some experience but hadn’t actually gone all the way yet – well, prior to last night, from the sounds of it. 

First times were already nerve-wracking and emotional affairs, anyways. But to have your first time be with someone who clearly harbored deeper feelings for you, and you practically admitted to them that you regretted it the next morning…

(Not to mention the offended party was a _prince_ , the _Fire Prince_ no less. Oof.)

Oh, no, no, no, no. This was about to turn _ugly_.

“…last night doesn’t have to mean anything,” she heard her friend say, and Suki quietly clapped her hand to her forehead and bit back a groan.

Oh Katara, honey, _no,_ Suki thought to herself. One did not say something like that to someone they slept with, especially not someone who had obviously fallen head over heels for them like he had…

“So did… did last night mean anything to you at all? Because it meant something to _me_.”

Oh Zuko, honey, _no_. One did not sleep with someone if they knew they were in danger of catching serious, possibly unrequited feelings like that…

Well, that all but confirmed it. The prince had fallen hard for her friend, and now his heart was being broken into a million pieces, and it sounded like Katara’s was, too.

This was bad. This was really, really, really bad. Their timing couldn’t have been worse, either. Seriously, of all times for these two to finally get together and implode afterwards, they had to pick the days leading up to the comet.

Sweet mother of – she loved her friends, she really and truly did, but neither of them had any clue what they were doing, did they?

Wait, what were they talking about now? Suki had gotten distracted by her own thoughts yet again and forgotten to listen.

She heard them argue some more, something about being on the same page and how he practically admitted that he... Oh, no. He was totally going to say that he loved her, wasn't he?

Then Zuko was storming off down the hall, from the sounds of it, and Katara was sniffling.

Suki heard the prince snap something about making her a _cup of tea_ waiting for her down in the kitchen – _oh good_ , that at least was one less thing for them to worry about. Thank goodness Zuko had worked in a tea shop and knew about silphium.

He had mentioned something about Sokka keeping an eye on it, though, which made Suki just a bit nervous. She didn't think she'd ever explained to her boyfriend what silphium tea was, but maybe he'd leave it alone or not think anything of it...

She then heard her friend tearily thank him, and Suki’s heart broke for both of them all over again. She wanted to rush out and comfort Katara, but she couldn’t right now. She should probably at least wait until Zuko left.

Suki wasn’t scared of him by any means, but there was his wounded ego to consider, plus there was less chance of a confrontation that got everyone else's attention if she talked with Katara one-on-one.

He spoke again softly, and Suki was startled when the sound came from nearby. Huh. He really was good at being stealthy.

(Suki and Zuko had compared their own stalking abilities one rainy day out of boredom, which ultimately ended in a draw, according to the others who served as judges. Looks like he won, after all.)

“I can’t just leave you like this,” he was saying quietly, his voice shaking. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

“No,” she whispered. “You’ve done enough for me already. But thank you.”

“Katara-”

“ _Please_ , Zuko. Just go.”

He seemed to hesitate, but then Suki heard his footsteps treading across the floor, and at last he was gone.

Suki knew now was her chance to go out and comfort her friend, but she found herself hesitating. What would she even say? Would Katara be mad that she had eavesdropped?

Oh, this was so messy. This was so bad. Get a grip, Suki, she thought to herself. Your friend needs you.

She sighed and shook her head before quietly opening her door. Suki had no idea what to say, but she’d come up with something…

… or she would have, except Katara was already gone. She silently cursed herself. Her friend must have already headed down to the kitchen to drink the silphium.

Suki walked softly downstairs behind her and paused before she got to the doorway that led into the kitchen. She could hear Sokka’s voice as well as Katara’s, who sounded glum but was clearly trying to act like she was fine.

Great, that was just great. Suki couldn’t exactly barge in right now and talk to Katara, not with Sokka sitting right there. She could always ask Sokka to give them a minute alone, but that might pique his interest.

Suki could tell that her boyfriend suspected something was up with his little sister, but the last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to it until Katara was ready to talk.

Looks like she would have to wait until later to talk to her friend. With another sigh, Suki trudged back up the stairs to get started on packing.

~*~*~

And she had every intention to, except she encountered her co-conspirator a few moments later.

“There you are!” Toph hissed, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her down the hallway.

“Ow, what? Toph what are you doing?” Suki snapped, eventually giving up and letting herself be pulled along up the stairs.

They finally stopped when they reached the earthbender’s bedroom, which happened to be right next to Katara’s.

“Okay…” Toph said in a low voice. “I’ve got something _major_ to tell you, but you have to promise not to tell a soul, especially Aang or Sokka…”

Wait, did she know, too? She _had_ to.

“I think I know exactly what you’re about to say,” Suki interrupted, much to the other girl’s surprise.

“Are you telling me that you know what I know?” Toph asked, tilting her head.

Well, here went nothing, Suki thought. No backing out now.

“Is it about Katara and…” she started before she was interrupted.

“Yes!” Toph shrieked before she could help herself, clapping her hands over her mouth. “Wait, how do you know what happened?”

Suki hurriedly explained how she had been in her bedroom and overheard the fallout between their two friends through her door. Toph nodded when she was finished and started pacing around the room.

“Oh, this is bad,” she moaned, distractedly punching her palm with her fist as she wandered around her room. “Twinkletoes is going to _flip_ , and he’s probably still ticked off about the argument last night, too. This is going to blow up in everyone’s faces, Suki, what are we going to do? We can’t afford any distractions or additional drama right now.”

For once, Suki didn’t have any answers.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I think both of them would have the common sense not to bring it up in front of Aang, at the very least. Sokka will probably be furious at first, but I’ll try to talk him down. As for Zuko and Katara…”

She trailed off.

“Toph, you didn’t hear their fight earlier by any chance, did you?”

“Oh, _no_ , I was lucky and caught the end of the live show instead, floor vibrations and all,” she replied, grimacing. “And I can assure you, both of them like it rou-”

“Nooope!” Suki interjected, covering her ears. “Nope, too much info!”

The younger teen shrugged.

“Just thought I shouldn’t be the only who suffered from that mental image,” Toph quipped, folding her arms.

“Ugh, thanks for nothing,” Suki retorted, shaking her head. “But in all seriousness, both of them just sounded so… sad. I think it’s obvious they like each other a lot, but I doubt they thought this through. Katara’s so worried about what everyone else will think, especially Aang, and she basically told him that she wanted to sweep this all under the rug… and well, Zuko…”

She paused, cradling her forehead in her palm.

“He’s got it really bad for her,” Toph offered, her voice soft and sad. “I’m no expert, but I think he might even love her, too.”

“I think you’re right,” Suki agreed, nodding even though it was a useless gesture given the present company. “I think Katara knows it too, and that’s probably another reason why she’s regretting it. Do you… do you think she…”

“Do I think she loves him back? Hard to say, Sukes. I know her heart also pounds whenever she’s around him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she feels the same way he does. I really don’t know. This isn’t exactly my area of expertise.”

Suki nodded again out of habit, even though her friend couldn’t see it. Out of the three girls, Toph was the least interested in relationships in general, although she harbored minor crushes on random boys here and there.

The only reason she’d started the bet was out of sheer curiosity. Now, it sounded like she was as invested in the whole messy affair as Suki was, who giggled in spite of herself.

“What’s so funny?” Toph asked, exasperation creeping into her voice. “Nothing about this whole situation is particularly humorous, Suki.”

“Sorry, sorry… it’s just bizarre hearing you get so worked up and invested in our friends’ love lives like that.”

Toph snorted.

“Look, I’ll admit that I’m hooked, but I’m more concerned about how this is going to affect the rest of us,” she explained. “A fallout between those two is going to impact the group as a whole, especially Aang. He’s going to be so mad that I doubt he’ll be able to be around either of them, much less act civil towards them, especially Zuko. You know he’s had a thing for Katara since… well, probably since the day they met.”

Suki frowned at that. Her friend wasn’t wrong, and she knew the Avatar would be absolutely furious when he found out… wait…

“Okay, hear me out,” Suki said softly. “What if no one tells Aang about what happened?”

Toph tilted her head.

“You mean… _lie_ ,” she said slowly. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, Sukes, he’s bound to find out sooner or later.”

“Fair point, but… what if it’s just for now? We don’t know if Katara and Zuko are actually going to become official or anything, after all. They may go their separate ways once it’s all said and done.”

“But still… you’re proposing that we lie to Aang… the _Avatar_ …”

Since when was Toph so worried about his feelings? If Suki didn’t know any better, she could have sworn her friend had another reason for her concern.

“Look, I don’t like it either,” Suki argued. “I’m just saying, _not right now_ , not with so much at stake. After the fact, if either of them wants to bring it up on their own, they can.”

“So… less lying, more like withholding information unless it becomes absolutely necessary, right?”

“Precisely.”

Toph considered this and shrugged.

“I guess that could work. I’m just not a fan of lying, period, but this may be one of the very rare exceptions… at least until after the comet, anyways.”

Suki let out a breath.

“Thanks, Toph. Like I said, I don’t really like it either, but I also don’t want this to blow up in everyone’s faces.”

The earthbender snorted in derision.

“Yeah, well, this probably will anyways, just so you know…”

“I know, I know,” Suki mumbled. “I also really want to talk to Katara at some point about everything, to get her side of the story and see how she’s doing. She sounded really broken up this morning arguing with Zuko and later in the kitchen talking to Sokka.”

Toph frowned.

“Speaking of…”

“What?”

“Katara’s headed this way, she just started coming up the stairs.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Look, I don’t know what to do, but I guess if she wants to talk we’ll listen, but otherwise it’s probably best not to bring it up. What do you think?”

“Yeah, I think you might be right,” Suki whispered. 

Both fell silent as Katara’s footsteps drew nearer and eventually passed the bedroom door altogether. Suki glanced over at her companion to exchange a look of concern and rolled her eyes when she remembered for the umpteenth time, _oh right_ , that doesn’t work with her.

“Hey Sugar Queen!” Toph called out, her voice sounding much friendlier than usual.

They heard her pause, let out a tiny sigh of resignation, and then her footsteps heading their direction. She poked her head in, and she looked absolutely miserable, although she no longer looked like she was about to cry, at least.

“Oh, hey Toph, hey Suki,” she said, clearly forcing a smile. “What’s going on?”

“I was about to help Toph pack, and we were wondering if you’d like some help with your stuff when we get done,” Suki said, inwardly smirking at her quick improvisation.

Katara just shook her head and ducked it downwards, staring at the floor.

“That’s sweet, but I think I can manage… but um, if either of you run into Zuko, can you tell him I’m looking for him?”

“You got it, Sweetness,” Toph chirped, and Suki nodded encouragingly.

Their friend gave them another nod and shuffled away down the hall. Both girls let out a deep breath after she left.

“Oh wow, you weren’t kidding,” Toph whispered when she was safely out of earshot. “Sugar Queen is a _wreck_.”

“Maybe if she finds him, they can work something out?” Suki offered hopefully.

“That would be nice,” Toph said. “Except he’s not in his room, or in the house for that matter. I’m guessing he’s somewhere outside.”

She paused and frowned. Come to think of it, she didn’t sense Aang anywhere, either… 

Maybe he was outside somewhere too?

~*~*~

Sometime later, the two co-conspirators made their way down to one of the empty rooms on the first floor, their belongings all packed up and slung over their backs in satchels.

Neither of them had heard or seen Zuko or Katara at all since earlier. However, they discovered the latter’s older brother hunched down beside a window overlooking the courtyard where Appa waited for them all.

Suki put her hand on Toph’s shoulder to hold her back, then she tiptoed over until she was standing right beside her boyfriend and leaned over.

“Who are we spying on, babe?” she asked right next to his ear.

Just as she expected, he yelped in surprise and fell backwards onto the floor, landing on his rear, and the two girls burst into laughter.

“You know, it’s really rude to sneak up on people,” he hissed, glaring up at his girlfriend, the light of his life, the girl he one day (secretly) hoped to wed, in utter betrayal.

“It’s also rude to spy on people,” Suki retorted with a smirk, helping him up to his feet. “So who were you watching? Oh…”

She glanced out of the window and immediately moved off to the side out of sight, pulling Sokka with her. He gave her a raised eyebrow and a look that said he saw right through her.

“What’s the matter, Suki?” he asked with a smug expression on his face. “You don’t want my sister or Zuko to see us watching?”

“Shh!” she hissed, swatting at his arm. “Have you heard them say anything since you’ve been watching them?”

Sokka raised his eyebrow.

“Well, no, I can’t hear anything from here. Can you, Toph?”

The Blind Bandit could hear them, but she wasn’t about to repeat what they were currently saying in front of Sokka.

“Afraid not,” she lied.

“Oh… I noticed something weird about both of them earlier this morning, and I’m trying to figure out what it is,” he said.

He bit his lip and looked at both his girlfriend and Toph.

“Don’t freak out when I tell you guys this but… I think that Zuko has a crush on my sister…”

They gaped at him for a moment in disbelief before they burst into laughter all over again.

“ _What_?” he snapped, scowling at them and folding his arms.

“Oh Snoozles,” Toph said, punching his elbow. “And _I’m_ supposedly the blind one around here…”

Once it dawned on Sokka, his jaw dropped and he wagged his finger at both of them accusatorily.

“Wait, what?!” he hissed. “You mean you both knew and didn’t tell me?!”

“Duh, Snoozles,” Toph snorted.

“Actually, we’ve known for a while that they like each other and even have a bet going for whichever one of them makes the first move,” Suki giggled. “I think it’s going to be Katara, Toph thinks it’ll be Zuko…”

Well, _had_ a bet is more like it, she thought a bit sadly.

“But yeah, we noticed that both of them seemed upset this morning,” she continued, peering around the window frame to watch the pair in question out on the courtyard. “They seem to have worked things out, though, thank goodness.”

Sokka shook his head.

“Wait, wait, wait. I’m still hung up on the fact that Zuko, one of my _best friends_ and the _Fire Prince_ , and my _sister_ , my sweet, innocent _baby sister_ , have a thing for each other, and I’m _just now_ finding out about it.”

Toph suppressed a weird combination of a snort and a snicker. She wouldn’t exactly call her friend sweet or innocent, especially after hearing how Katara had worked Zuko over last night... but a quick elbow from Suki helped her immediately regain her composure.

“Look, Snoozles, the reason we didn’t tell you is because frankly it’s no one else’s business-”

“You two just admitted you have a bet-” he interjected.

“Regardless, if those two want to get together, who are we to stop them?”

He tilted his head and frowned at them once more.

“I’m not saying I’m opposed to them, necessarily… I’m just not happy that I’m the last to know about it,” he said, crossing his arms. “There’s nothing else going on that I should know about, is there?”

The two girls both put on grins that appeared entirely too innocent and responded with a loud “nooope” at the same time.

Toph was against lying in general, but she would rather lose every single Earth Rumble for the rest of her life or get beaten in an earthbending match against Twinkletoes for the rest of eternity than admit to Sokka that she’d sensed his baby sister hooking up with his best friend last night.

Sometimes, it was better to tell a little white lie.

“Plus, you know, we were worried about you and how you’d react,” Suki added, which was partially the truth.

“You were _worried_ about _me_?” he asked incredulously. “Aw, that’s really considerate of you both, but I’m not the one you need to worry about blowing up. Aang doesn’t know yet, does he?”

Where _was_ he, by the way? Toph hadn’t sensed him all morning long, and it was starting to weird her out.

“I think he knows something’s up between those two, but I don’t think he realizes they like each other,” Suki admitted.

Sokka made a hmphing sound. He certainly didn’t want to be around whenever Aang figured it all out. Then he glanced at one of the clocks down the hallway and blanched when he saw how late it had gotten.

“Well, as fun as this discussion about my sister’s love life has been, we really need to get going,” he announced with a sigh, shouldering his bags. “Time to go interrupt the two lovebirds so we can pay the Fire Lord a little visit.”

Which was the plan, at least, until they discovered they were missing one very critical member of their group.

~*~*~

Later that afternoon, the three huddled together on Appa’s saddle, comparing notes in hushed whispers.

Zuko was flying them towards the Earth Kingdom for some reason that he wouldn't elaborate on, and Katara was curled up in the back of the saddle, staring blankly at the world passing by below. Now was as good a time as any that they’d get to talk.

“Did you find out anything, Toph?” Sokka asked quietly, unsurprised when she shook her head. “So much for your little life-changing field trip, huh.”

“Tell me about it,” she grumbled. “I wasn’t even going to bring up the stuff about my parents, but he just wouldn’t talk, no matter how much I tried to get him to. What about you, Suki?”

“Same here,” Suki whispered. “I almost brought it up a few times, but she really didn’t want to talk, either. What are we gonna do?”

Sokka frowned and glanced at both his sister and his best friend. They had acted friendly enough in front of the others, but it was obvious that something heavy hung in the air between them.

“I’ll try talking to Zuko again later,” he offered, stretching out and propping his hands under the back of his neck. “For now, I guess let’s just focus on finding Aang.” 

The other two girls agreed and settled down near Katara towards the back of the saddle. Sokka leaned back and stared up at the blue sky overhead and closed his eyes after a minute.

For some reason, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something right under his nose, something important…


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than the first two, almost half as long as the previous one actually, but something tells me you all won't mind too much. Enjoy!

Zuko groaned as he forced his eyes open and found himself staring up at the ceiling of his old bedroom in the palace.

How long had he been out? The last thing he remembered was collapsing on the bed earlier that day after the Agni Kai against Azula, and it was nighttime now.

Had he been asleep all this time? He was still utterly wiped out, and every inch of his body still ached, although thankfully not as badly as earlier.

The moonlight bathed the room with a soft glow, which paled in comparison to the brilliant blue light shining from his chest.

For a moment he panicked, remembering the lightning sinking into his body earlier like a thousand sharp teeth.

That quickly vanished, though, and he let out a hiss of pain once he tried to sit up and felt his chest tightening in protest from the sudden movement.

“Shh, shh, Zuko, it’s okay, you’re okay,” he heard Katara murmur from somewhere behind the glowing light. “Just lie back and relax, you’re safe.”

His vision was hazy, but he could make out her form now, faintly illuminated by the glow. She looked absolutely exhausted, but the smile on her face seemed to wipe away some of the fatigue.

He fell back against the pillow with a sigh and tried to focus his gaze on the woman healing him.

“Katara,” he rasped, and he suppressed a wince at how weak his voice sounded. “How long was I out?”

She smiled softly and removed one of her hands to brush strands of hair away from his face.

“Several hours. Do you remember anything after you went to bed?”

Zuko shook his head and sat up much more slowly this time, even as her hands continued healing his chest and reclined at an angle against the pillows.

He remembered eating a light dinner and a bath that Katara had helped him with because he was still too weak to stand for long periods of time– she’d already seen him naked, they’d reasoned, no point in being modest now.

Then he remembered collapsing in his bed, and that was it.

“You’ve been in and out since then,” she continued, focusing her attention on the scorched tissue beneath the surface of his skin. “The royal physician even stopped by for a while, but when he saw me healing you, he decided you couldn’t be in better hands.”

He gave her a half-smile.

“Did he really say that?”

“Well no,” she admitted with a smirk. “But I’m pretty sure he was thinking it. He did leave some medication you can take for the pain, though. That was a few hours ago.”

She continued working for several minutes in silence.

"You also woke up earlier at one point and told me that you had decided to be called His Royal Flaminess once you were officially crowned," she said, biting her lower lip as she tried to suppress a laugh.

Zuko snorted.

" _That's_ a lie," he said, raising his eyebrow.

She giggled.

"Good catch," she said, winking at him. "At least now we know that your brain didn't get scrambled earlier."

"Ha, ha," he retorted, although he couldn't stop the smile spreading on his face.

She grinned and started to respond, but a massive yawn overtook her and cut her off.

He frowned up at her in concern.

“Just how long have you been healing me?” he asked. “Because no offense, but you look drained, Katara. Have you even taken a break since you started?”

“Not really,” she said with a sigh. “But I’ve made a lot of progress, and your recovery period should be much shorter now, a few weeks instead of a few months.”

“Katara,” he chastised, sitting up completely with a grunt. “It’s okay, you can stop for now. You really need to rest.”

She shook her head.

“No, I can’t,” she insisted. “It’s all my fault that you got hurt, and I’m the reason you almost lost everything…”

She trailed off, swallowing and staring down at his chest now instead of his face.

“… the least I can do is heal you and make sure you’re going to be okay. Just let me do this for you, Zuko, you’ve already done more than enough - ”

He cut her off by wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close in an embrace.

“Hey, hey,” he said softly, burying his fingers in her hair. “It’s okay, Katara, you can stop. I’ve got you, it’s okay. Just let go and relax, can you do that for me?”

She started to protest, but her voice cracked and she broke down instead, letting out a quiet sob. Defeated, she lowered her hands, thankfully remembering to discard the water back into the nearby bowl instead of letting it all spill onto his lap.

Her arms shakily wrapped around him, and her hands felt so small and cool against his back. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and began crying harder somehow after he kissed the side of her head as she leaned against his cheek.

He wasn’t sure how long they held each other like that, with him whispering reassurances and stroking her hair as she sobbed in his arms.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he murmured over and over, palming his hands up and down her back to warm her up. “I’ve got you, Katara, and I’m not letting you go again, not unless you want me to.”

She sniffled and looked up at him with bloodshot eyes.

“Why are you doing this?” she croaked out, her voice hoarse. “ _You’re_ the one who got hurt and almost died a few hours ago. You have to be exhausted, Zuko, you shouldn’t be taking care of me right now.”

He smiled down at her, letting his eyes crinkle up the way they only did around her.

“Of course I do,” he said gently. “Someone needs to. You’re always looking out for everyone else, but does anyone ever look out for you?”

She hesitated, and he gave her a reassuring smile. 

“You’ve already done such a good job healing me,” he said, nuzzling his head against hers. “Please take a break and get some sleep. You can continue healing me in the morning if you want to, but right now you should rest. Please, Katara. Do this for me.”

She nodded after a few moments of uncertainty and smiled weakly up at him.

“What if I said no, though?” she asked, raising her eyebrow. “You can’t exactly force me to go to sleep.”

He tilted his head in amusement.

“Well, I’m the Fire Lord now and whatever I say goes,” he teased, wiping the tears from her eyes and face.

Just like he hoped, her face broke out into a combative smirk.

“You’re not Fire Lord yet, Zuko,” she retorted. “But I just want you to know that I’m only stopping for the night because you asked me nicely. Don’t think you can start bossing me around now.”

He chuckled and gave her a gentle squeeze, resting his chin in the crook of her neck.

“Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

Then he stifled a yelp as she lightly poked his side.

“That’s _Master_ Katara to you,” she teased. “Although I like that nickname, too.”

~*~*~

A short time later she extracted herself from his arms and he reluctantly let her go, watching as she rummaged around in her bag until she pulled out her nightgown and changed into it.

He stretched out on his back, biting back another grunt of pain. He preferred sleeping on his side, but his chest was still too sore to even turn over. Then his breath caught in his throat momentarily when she crawled into the bed with him and settled down beside him under the covers.

She snuggled up against him and rested her head on his shoulder, delicately slipping her arm around his chest, careful to avoid his injury. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her in closer, and he planted a few kisses on her forehead.

“G’night,” she mumbled.

“Sweet dreams, Katara,” he whispered, kissing her head once more for good measure.

~*~*~

He hesitated for several minutes before he spoke his next words so softly that he wondered if she even heard them.

At first it seemed like she didn’t, as the silence afterwards seemed to last forever. His heart all but palpitated in his chest; what had he been _thinking_?

Best-case scenario, she was already asleep or if she was still awake, she’d just ignore it and doze off. Worst-case scenario, she’d be offended and rip herself out of his arms, storming away out of his room. 

Finally, she tilted her head up to look at him, and he saw her smile sleepily in the darkness, and time seemed to stop. 

“You know, earlier today when I thought I was about to die, I had a moment of clarity and I realized something,” she whispered.

He gulped as his heart started beating even faster, somehow.

“What’s that?” he rasped out, hardly daring to hope.

Katara smiled and leaned up to plant a few sweet kisses around his neck, jawline, and his cheeks before she reached his mouth. She paused, cupping his scarred cheek with her palm.

“I realized I love you, too,” she said before her lips met his, and suddenly his chest no longer hurt anymore.

All of his aches and pains seemed to melt away entirely as she shimmied up until she was leaning over him and deepened the kiss, and his hands tangled up in her hair. He wrapped one of his hands around her back and pulled her down, desperate to close the space between them.

He panted in spite of himself when they pulled back to catch their breath, and she giggled.

“I take it that kiss was so good it left you breathless,” she said as she kissed his cheek.

Zuko nodded solemnly, tracing the side of her face with his fingertips.

“I… I just wanted to be sure,” he mumbled. “Do you really mean what you said just now? You’re not just saying it because I did, or because you feel guilty, or…”

He trailed off, a smile of relief washing over his face when she nodded.

“I do,” she breathed, kissing him again tenderly.

Then she gave him a few pecks on the cheek before settling back down against him.

“I still don’t know what the future holds, or what’s going to happen in the next few days,” she whispered, giving him a gentle squeeze. “But if you’ll have me, I want to face it all with you, by your side.”

His heart seemed to burst out of his chest for an entirely different reason than before.

“Of course,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “I’m never letting you go again, Katara.”

“Good,” she mumbled, nestled up safely in his arms. “I’m not letting go of you, either.”

She drifted off to sleep almost immediately afterwards, although Zuko found he was now wide awake.

He stared up at the ceiling, exhaling slowly and glancing down at the woman in his arms who he had been prepared to give his life for earlier, no questions asked, and allowed himself to be hopeful for the future, just for a moment.

Doubts swirled around the edges of his consciousness, though, telling him not to be too happy just yet or get too comfortable. She would probably come to her senses in the morning and leave him all over again just like she did last time.

If she left him again in the morning or even in the middle of the night, regretting what she had said and renouncing her affirmation of love, he knew it would hurt far worse than it had before, and this time it would be enough to break him entirely.

But he eventually forced those thoughts out of his mind, at least for now.

Zuko remembered his uncle’s words that he’d repeated to Katara several days ago, about how some things could only be done or talked about at night, and how sometimes it was best for them to be forgotten about the next day.

He hoped desperately against hope that this wouldn’t be one of them, but for now, he was content being held by the woman he loved.

All he needed was this moment of feeling safe and loved in her embrace, and he noted how _right_ this all seemed to be, as if they were always meant to end up in each other’s arms.

Fate would probably tear her from his side again, or she would come to her senses and walk away all on her own. But he decided he wasn’t going to worry about that just yet.

For now, this was all he ever needed or wanted, and being with her was all he could ask for.

~*~*~

Zuko awoke early the next morning, squinting as the sunlight poured into his window. He glanced down and his heart fluttered with relief to discover that she was still wrapped up in his arms, clinging to him in her sleep.

Some minutes later she woke up as well, yawning as he continued delicately trailing his fingers through her hair.

“Morning” he whispered, his heart pounding suddenly as he swallowed in anticipation. “I know it’s early, but do you… I was wondering, do you still feel the same way as you did - ”

She cut him off with a sleepy kiss.

“I still do,” she mumbled against his mouth before kissing all around his face. “I love you, Zuko.”

His heart soared and, if he was being perfectly honest, a part of him wanted to cry tears of happiness. Instead, he let out a sigh of relief and pulled her in closer to him, kissing her deeper.

He had no idea how they were going to work this whole courtship out, with him being crowned Fire Lord in the near future and her returning back home to the South Pole.

But that was a problem for later in the day, or perhaps even tomorrow or the next week.

Right now, this was the only thing he cared about, just the two of them, together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a DOOZY. It wasn't difficult to write, but there's just so much to cover and exposition at the beginning that I almost split it into two separate chapters. Since the previous one was shorter, though, I decided to leave it as one. Enjoy!

Everything was perfect.

The war of the last hundred years had finally concluded, and an era of peace would take its place.

Zuko was crowned Fire Lord nearly three weeks after the comet before a roaring crowd made up of Fire Nation citizens and nobility alike, as well as their friends, allies, and various supporters they had encountered along the way.

Together, he and the Avatar stood side by side, vowing to usher in a new world of rebirth and harmony. 

Katara and Sokka were finally reunited with their father shortly before the coronation, and the Fire Lord himself invited their family, as well as Aang, Toph, and Suki to stay at the palace as guests for as long as they wanted to.

The Southern Water Tribe Chief was moved by the gesture of goodwill and accepted graciously, at least for a month’s time. Master Pakku and most of the tribe’s warriors returned home shortly after the war ended, and Hakoda announced that he too must soon follow once all of the negotiations and meetings concluded.

Meanwhile several of the Kyoshi Warriors had, with Suki’s approval, volunteered to take up residence at the palace as additional security, much to Ty Lee’s delight, who wasted no time showing her new friends and comrades around her old stomping grounds.

Even Zuko’s reunion with his former girlfriend Mai had gone about as well as could be expected. He told Katara afterwards that they’d had a nice, long chat about their history and he was the one who ultimately decided to end things with his ex for good. They didn’t quite part as friends, but they didn’t part as bitter enemies either, so that at least counted for something.

Toph was in no hurry to rush back to her parents’ house, so she offered to stick around until either she got bored or she offended the royal staff past the point of no return, whichever one came first.

Aang of course was staying as the Fire Lord’s guest of honor, and the two quickly set about hashing out their plans to lead the nations back into peace. To Katara’s relief, he hadn’t attempted to rekindle anything on his end, although she knew it was just a matter of time until he inevitably would bring it up.

But for now, everything was perfect.

She and Zuko had somehow managed to keep their relationship under wraps, at least for the time being, even from her brother and their friends. After their rather passionate and emotionally charged beginning, they had decided to take things slowly from now on and court each other properly.

With everything about their courtship being so new and unusual, they weren’t quite ready to share it with the rest of the world just yet, not even those closest to them. One day they would, but not right now.

For now, it was their happy little secret that no one else needed to know about. They had even made up their own secret code for whenever they were in public or around their friends and couldn't openly express their affection.

Their eyes would meet for the briefest of moments, then one of them would slowly close and open theirs, which the other would repeat. To anyone else they just appeared to be blinking, but it said everything they needed to without speaking a word.

_Love you._

_Love you, too._

Everything was indeed perfect and the future seemed bright, until approximately six weeks after that fateful last night at the beach house.

Katara woke up one morning earlier than usual, promptly threw up everything in her stomach, and suddenly it wasn’t quite so perfect anymore.

~*~*~

She paced around her bedroom in the palace, wringing her hands while trying to somehow calm her furiously pounding heart that hammered inside her chest.

Occasionally she paused, swallowing hard to keep what little remained in her stomach down.

She had already vomited twice that morning and there shouldn’t be anything left, yet she found herself gagging every now and then despite her best efforts. 

The first time she’d gotten sick was nothing more than a common symptom that most women had for the first few months before their bodies acclimated and the illness eventually faded.

The second was shortly after the first and had been her stunned (and mildly horrified) reaction when she realized exactly _what_ said symptom indicated, as well as the discovery that her body now played host to another.

For what seemed like the millionth time already today, she lifted her nightgown and called forth a handful of water, holding it over her lower abdomen to search within until she found... there.

There was all the confirmation she needed, the evidence of a night that no one else was ever supposed to find out about.

Hidden deep inside her was proof of the secret relationship that she and Zuko had vowed not to reveal to anybody – at least not yet, not until a few months had passed first.

Her child. _Their_ child.

The newest heir to the Fire Nation, who she now carried in secret.

~*~*~

Before they would reveal anything publicly about their relationship status, Katara had originally planned to have a long-overdue conversation with the Avatar.

She would politely yet firmly insist that while she loved him like a member of her own family, she had realized long ago that she didn’t return his romantic affections.

Her heart belonged to another; one who she logically should never have fallen for in the first place, given their complicated history first as enemies, then reluctant allies, gradually becoming friends and eventually lovers. 

Once Zuko had stabilized the Fire Nation somewhat and things had settled down, he would make the announcement that he intended to formally court her, which she would immediately and enthusiastically accept.

By that point, their closest friends and immediate family should be aware of the exact nature of their relationship, and she hoped she would have convinced hers to accept it.

Both knew that Iroh would instantly welcome her to their family and would sell their courtship as a political alliance to the nobles of the royal court.

However, Katara also knew she had her work cut out for her.

Trying to persuade her tribe, especially Gran-Gran, that the formerly volatile prince who once threatened to burn their village to ashes had changed for the better and was the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life would be no small feat.

If nothing else, she hoped the fact that he had saved her life, her brother’s, and her father’s while risking his own in the process would help sway the villagers’ opinion. Still, she had her doubts they would ever fully accept him as a changed man, least of all as an appropriate suitor.

Katara knew that if she were in their place, she would have a difficult time trusting anyone from the Fire Nation, no matter how many good deeds he performed to atone for both his sins and his country’s.

That was just half of the obstacles they faced, though. Zuko and his uncle would somehow have to convince the royal court and the nobles to accept an outsider as one of them, especially if he ever proposed and married her some day off in the future.

They hadn’t quite broached that subject just yet – there was still far too much else to worry about.

Katara still remembered Aunt Wu’s prediction from all those years ago, though, and for the longest time she had wondered if the powerful bender she was destined to wed was none other than the Avatar himself.

Now, she wondered if it could be a certain firebender instead – an idea she wasn’t exactly opposed to, if she was being perfectly honest…

~*~*~

Zuko had already warned her that as Fire Lord, anyone he courted would be eyed as a potential Fire Lady and thus be subject to gossip and scrutiny, especially by the richer nobles on the court.

While he vowed he would protect her as best as possible, it was likely that she’d face harsh criticisms regardless.

She had just lifted her chin proudly, haughtily declaring that she was prepared for any adversaries who dared try to tear them apart.

“I already defied all of the higher powers when I saved you from death, Zuko, so I say bring on the snobby nobles,” she told him one afternoon following a private healing session in his bedroom. 

Their friends and allies were scheduled to arrive in the Fire Nation in a day or so, and in less than a week he would be crowned. Several days had passed since Sozin’s Comet, and while he had regained much of his former strength already, he still had a long road of recovery ahead of him.

Katara kissed his cheek and wrapped him up in her arms before continuing. “I even vowed to defy the stars themselves if anyone ever attempted to separate us again.”

He smiled down at her, his eyes crinkling up in happiness, and pulled her in closer for a deep kiss.

“I defy the stars as well, then,” he murmured against her lips, “and I pity them, for they can never have you, yet still would try to take you from my arms.”

She pulled back and looked up at him in surprise.

“That was beautiful,” she said with an amused grin, her eyes sparkling. “Almost poetic, even. Where did that come from?”

His face flushed slightly and he ducked his head.

“No clue, I probably read it in a book or something once,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t get used to it, though. I’ll probably never say anything that smooth ever again.”

Katara giggled and kissed all over his jawline before reuniting with his lips once more.

“You can always try,” she teased, yelping when he reached down and squeezed her bottom.

He smirked and took her hands in his, bringing both up to kiss them.

“I could,” he conceded, “but something tells me that’s not the reason why you fell in love with me.”

“Fair point,” she laughed as he leaned down to kiss her neck.

She started to say something else, but then he latched on to a sensitive area, and soon she was whimpering beneath the warmth of his lips.

He paused after a minute, and she shivered from the heat in his gaze as their eyes met. Without a word he guided her towards the bed and pulled her down with him, immediately rolling over on top of her.

“Zuko,” she chided lightly even as her hands tangled up in his hair, carefully untying his topknot. “Your heart’s still too weak for all of this.”

He actually pouted, and she giggled at how pitiful and very unlike a mighty almost-Fire Lord he looked just then.

“Soon, though,” she promised with a smile that he returned, his black locks falling into his eyes. “I’m thinking maybe in a month, the two of us can figure out some excuse and sneak away from our friends and the others for at least an hour.”

He shook his head and smirked.

“Oh no, sweetheart,” he purred, lining his hips up to hers and rocking slowly. “I want at least one whole night, maybe more, to thank you properly for saving me and to show you how much I love you.”

Katara bit her lip and let out a soft moan as she felt him pressing against her through the bunched-up fabric of their clothes, and warmth pooled between her legs.

She knew from their past attempts – ever since the lightning, at least – that any bravado on his end would be short-lived. Sure enough, a few minutes later he was already out of breath, panting against her chest and stopping entirely before either had even unrobed.

Her fingertips traced the edges of his face, cupping his cheeks in both hands and pulling him down for a tender kiss instead.

“Sorry,” he rasped out, tilting his head to the side with a slight frown. “I promise I’ll make it up to you someday soon.”

Katara smiled and brushed strands of hair out of his face, which just fell back in place anyways.

“It’s okay, I promise,” she assured him. “You took lightning for me, so if anything you should be dead or at the very least paralyzed. The fact that you’re even alive right now…”

“It’s all thanks to you,” he mumbled, lying down and resting his unscarred cheek against her chest.

Her hands tangled up in his hair again and she gently stroked, appreciating the way it felt between her fingertips and how warm he felt in her arms. After a minute of contented hums, he started to scoot up so he could be the one holding her, but she nudged him back down.

“I’ve got you, Zuko,” she whispered, kissing his forehead. “Let me hold you.”

He looked up at her, his cheek still safely nestled just below her collarbone and winked, his golden eyes shining as bright as sunlight.

“As you wish, sweetheart,” he murmured as she leaned down to kiss the top of his head. “Love you, Katara.”

She beamed at him and repeated her own affirmation of love, and soon both drifted off to sleep for a brief nap, safely wrapped up in each other’s arms as she held him.

~*~*~

They had concocted the perfect plan to ensure their courtship would be found as acceptable as possible when presented before their families, their friends, and the entire world…

…but the child growing inside of her now threatened to tear it all down.

 _Their_ child, who was conceived during the only time they’d actually slept together that last night at the Ember Island beach house, even though she had drunk the contraceptive tea the following morning.

Apparently, she hadn’t, after all, or it had been brewed improperly or... she really didn’t know exactly what happened, but somehow, some way, something went wrong.

Her gut feeling at the time had told her there was something off about the tea, that it was too sweet to actually be silphium. But all of them had quickly been distracted by the Avatar’s absence and she’d forgotten about it altogether…

… until now, just over six weeks later, as she sensed something minuscule, almost imperceptible, that fluttered somewhere deep within her.

A small part of her was overjoyed – she was going to be a _mother_ – but it was vastly outweighed by trepidation.

She discarded the water that gloved her hand and delicately placed her palm flat against her stomach, which was slightly rounded more than usual but not noticeably so.

Katara drew a ragged breath and blinked back tears.

This was bad. This was so, so, so very bad, not just for her and their child, but especially for Zuko. He was less than a month into his reign and already had a scandal brewing that could wreck everything.

An illegitimate child, still several months away from being born, could easily destroy what little progress he’d already made as Fire Lord.

Katara needed to tell him, somehow, or get him alone for a few minutes at least, but she knew he’d be caught up in meetings all day long with her father and other various dignitaries from the Northern Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom.

It’s not like she could leave her bedroom, anyways. Every time she started to get ready and make herself look somewhat presentable, she found herself dry heaving, from nerves or the pregnancy, she wasn’t entirely sure.

What she was sure of, though, was that there was no way she’d be able to attend breakfast or keep anything down anytime for the foreseeable future.

Soon enough, she heard a rapping at her bedroom door and her escort’s voice informing her that it was time to go.

“Are you almost ready, Lady Katara?” she heard the woman ask through the wooden door, and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to vomit again right there on the floor.

Instead, she swallowed and squared her shoulders back, opening the door a crack to peer out.

When the servant saw her pale, clammy face, she visibly recoiled but quickly regained her composure.

“I’m so sorry,” Katara croaked out. “I’m really not feeling well, so I won’t be able to-”

“I’ll fetch a doctor right away, my lady,” the servant interjected, bowing quickly before she practically ran off.

Well then. She must have looked even worse than she thought, Katara mused to herself before she felt her stomach turn over yet again.

~*~*~

The Fire Lord glanced around the small breakfast table housed in one of the palace’s many sunrooms and frowned slightly. Everyone else had already convened and was seated, except for Katara, and it wasn’t like her to be this late.

Zuko didn’t draw attention to her absence, though, as the others chatted on, seemingly oblivious in their own separate discussions. He didn’t want to do anything to tip his hand yet regarding their relationship, even if it was something as innocuous as noticing whenever she wasn’t around.

Besides, Katara could have overslept or had a wardrobe malfunction. It was probably nothing serious.

In fact, he decided to imagine it was the latter, and all of her clothes were now tragically torn, which meant she’d have to borrow some of his instead. She looked even better in them in his daydream, wearing just his shirt with absolutely nothing on underneath for some reason, and it skimmed over all of her curves so perfectly…

But then the servant who normally escorted Katara rushed in, just shy of breathless, and he was promptly shaken out of that particular fantasy with mildly flushed cheeks as all conversation around him ceased.

He was thankful no one could read minds, _especially_ her father and brother, who wore matching frowns of concern on their faces not unlike his own, he supposed.

“Forgive me for the intrusion, my Lord,” the servant panted. “It’s Lady Katara… she-”

At that, Zuko immediately stood up and grimaced when he noticed the others had turned to stare at him. He quickly composed himself, though, and patted his lightning scar carefully, which at least diffused some of the suspicious looks they were casting his way.

His chest still hurt from time to time, like it did now, but that wasn’t the reason for his pained expression.

Oh no, he’d just been so concerned about acting nonchalant regarding Katara’s absence, only to jump right out of his chair instead the moment her name was mentioned.

 _Idiot_. So much for not tipping his hand.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, somehow sounding calm and authoritative despite his pounding heart. “Where is Lady Katara? Has something happened?”

The servant had collected her breath by now and spoke her next words normally.

“My apologies for the false alarm,” the escort replied, resuming her usual proper tone. “Lady Katara finds herself feeling quite unwell this morning and will be unable to attend breakfast. I’ve just returned from fetching the doctor to examine her.”

Oh. Well, that was harmless enough he supposed, although her being sick still worried him. Then again, some of the best physicians in the entire country did reside in the palace and capitol city, so at least she was in good hands.

He let out a small sigh of relief and sat down as the Southern Water Tribe’s chief inquired what was wrong with his daughter.

“I’m not entirely sure, Chief Hakoda,” she answered, bowing to him, “but I believe she said she has been sick all morning long, ever since daybreak.”

Upon hearing that, Suki’s eyes widened for some reason, and as the others talked amongst themselves she seemed to calculate something silently and reached a conclusion that made her gasp softly.

Zuko tilted his head in her direction, confused by her reaction, but then she leaned over and whispered something to Toph that made the earthbender’s eyes grow round, too.

The two quickly excused themselves and announced that they would go check on their friend, since Hakoda and the others would be stuck in meetings immediately afterwards.

Aang offered to go with them but was immediately discouraged from doing so by the two girls.

“I’m sure it’s nothing major,” Suki said with a grin that seemed somewhat forced.

“Besides, Twinkletoes, don’t think you can get out of these meetings so easy,” Toph added. “We’ll go check on her now, and later if she’s still feeling unwell then the rest of you can swing by.”

The Avatar nodded, dejected, and Zuko found himself feeling disappointed as well. If Katara was sick he wanted to be there with her, to comfort her and make her feel better and look after her, but as Fire Lord he couldn’t exactly sneak away from the meetings this morning.

At least she’d be in good company with her two best friends, though.

Yet as they left, Zuko couldn’t help but feel like something fateful was brewing on the horizon…

~*~*~

“You’re doing well, Lady Katara, just relax and breathe slowly,” the doctor’s assistant said calmly. “That’s it… see, don’t you feel better now?”

Katara most certainly did _not_ feel better, thank you very much, but she knew it would do no good to say so out loud. Once the doctor had performed a preliminary examination, she was reluctantly forced to admit that there was a strong possibility that she was pregnant.

At that, the doctor had sent for the royal midwife, who had helped guide new mothers and delivered countless babies born in the palace over the decades – including the current Fire Lord himself, which Katara found amusing in its own small way.

Still, though.

She let out a deep breath and stared up at the ornate ceiling tiles as she reclined on the bed, waiting for the midwife to arrive. Nearby the doctor and his assistant conversed in hushed, polite tones nearby, ignorant to the fact that she wasn’t just carrying any regular baby.

Oh, _no_. She was only the last waterbender from the South Pole and the unwed mother of the new Fire Prince or Princess, no big deal. Nothing out of the ordinary about that whole situation _whatsoever_.

There was a loud pounding on the door, and she sat up, startled. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she gulped. This was it, she thought to herself. If the midwife examined her and determined that she was indeed pregnant, it was only a matter of time before everyone else found out. 

“That must be Lady Atsuno,” the doctor said to her in a voice meant to be soothing, which didn’t comfort Katara at all.

When he opened the door, however, instead of the midwife stood her two best friends waiting impatiently on the other side.

She wanted to cry from happiness or relief or maybe even shock.

“Excuse me, ladies, I’m afraid you’re not permitted-” the doctor started to say but was quickly silenced.

“Don’t you know who we are?” she heard Toph’s voice booming out. “We’re Katara’s best friends, and if there’s something wrong with her then don’t you dare try to stand in our way.”

Katara quickly wiped the tears away from the edges of her eyes.

“It’s okay, they can come in!” she called out feebly, thanking whatever spirits were listening to her prayers just now.

The doctor stiffened but nodded and stood aside to let them pass, and both practically ran to her bedside.

“What are you doing here?” Katara whispered as she found herself in a group hug with both of them.

Suki spoke first in hushed tones.

“There’s something we need to tell you,” she whispered, biting her lower lip and watching to make sure the doctor and assistant weren’t listening in. “Toph and I… well, we know what happened that last night at the beach house, with you and… well, you know.” 

Katara’s jaw dropped as Toph continued.

“If it makes you feel any better, no one else knows. Not even Snoozles, although he finally figured out there was a spark between you and you-know-who. But he doesn’t know that you two… combined your bending, so to speak.”

Katara could only stare at them both in complete shock.

“Wait, _what?_ ” she hissed when she could speak again. “How do you both know about that?!”

Suki gave her a dry smile.

“Well, I kind of overheard you and him talking about it the morning after in the hallway…”

“You… you what?!” Katara sputtered in disbelief. “I can’t believe you eavesdropped! No one else was supposed to know!”

Suki rolled her eyes and gave her friend a look of annoyance.

“Is that why you had that conversation in the secret hallway where there are no other bedrooms and that no one ever uses?” she countered.

Katara opened her mouth to protest but closed it almost immediately.

“Don’t worry, Sweetness, _I_ didn’t eavesdrop,” Toph said with a snort. “I was lucky and got to sense the end of the live show.”

The waterbender groaned and buried her face in her hands.

“Sorry, Toph, I didn’t even think…”

“Oh, no you definitely did not. But when the time is right, you two are going to make it up to me. I _will_ have my revenge one way or another.”

There was a long pause before Toph practically blurted out her next words.

“So… is it true that you’re, you know, pregnant? Suki thinks you’ve got morning sickness.”

At that, Katara turned a mild shade of green and was tempted to vomit again. Suki noticed and stroked her hair gently.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” she said reassuringly. “Whatever happens, we’ve got your back.”

Katara hesitated, breathing heavily for a minute before she answered.

“I… I think I might be,” she finally whispered. “But I guess I’m about to find out for sure, huh.”

The other girls nodded sympathetically. Each held one of her hands in theirs, and the three friends sat together in silent solidarity until there was another knock on her bedroom door.

“Now _that_ will be Lady Atsuno,” the doctor declared, and indeed this time it was.

Then Suki and Toph were shooed out into the antechamber connected to Katara’s bedroom to wait.

~*~*~

It was nearly lunchtime before the meetings with the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe dignitaries finally concluded, and by that point the Fire Lord was ready to yank all of his hair out in impatience.

He knew this was what he’d signed up for when he ascended the throne, that he would sometimes have to sit through meetings that were too important to skip no matter what, but _still_.

All Zuko could think about as one of Chief Arnook’s representatives droned on and on was whether or not the doctors had discovered yet what was wrong with Katara and if she’d been treated. Was it a stomach illness or something more severe? Was she scared? Did she need him?

His thoughts wandered all throughout the meetings, though thankfully he was still mentally present enough to do his job and be somewhat useful. If nothing else, he should at least work to bring about peace, even though his heart was elsewhere.

At long last it was over, but before he could duck out to see Katara, he was stopped and cornered by one of King Kuei’s men who wanted to hear more about his time in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se.

Zuko bit back a sigh, and he saw the others waiting patiently for him beside the door. As much as it pained him to do so, he couldn’t just brush the man off. So he gave the others a wave and a strained smile.

“I’ll catch up,” he called out. “See you guys shortly. Give her my best.”

His uncle, the Avatar, Chief Hakoda and Sokka nodded sympathetically and left in the direction of Katara’s room.

Then the Fire Lord put on his best manners and nodded along as the representative asked him all about the poverty he had experienced firsthand while working as a server in a tea shop.

~*~*~

Suki and Toph bolted upright in their seats when the others filed into the antechamber to Katara’s room to wait.

“Hey babe,” Sokka said, plopping down beside his girlfriend and greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. “Any word yet?”

Suki swallowed and shook her head. It was technically the truth; ever since the midwife had shooed them out, she and Toph had been waiting as patiently as possible with no news.

She wasn’t sure yet if it was a blessing or a problem that Zuko wasn’t with them, and she was thankful Toph asked the question she was almost afraid to.

“Oh, yeah, Sifu Hotman got detained by some official Fire Lord business, but he’ll be along as soon as possible,” Aang replied, distractedly spinning a top around in his hands with airbending. “He said to give Katara his best in the meantime.”

Yeah, he _definitely_ had done that already, Suki thought while suppressing a smirk. Now wasn’t the time for that kind of humor. 

Their group sat together conversing in the antechamber, and Iroh eventually sent a servant to fetch them a light lunch and tea while they waited.

~*~*~

Finally, once the food had arrived and the tea had steeped long enough, the door to Katara’s bedroom opened and the midwife poked her head out.

When he recognized the matronly looking woman, Iroh nearly dropped his teacup in shock.

“Lady Atsuno!” he said weakly, his eyes widening as realization slowly dawned on him. “I was not expecting to see you here.”

“General Iroh, it’s been far too long,” she greeted him with a perfectly pleasant smile.

The Lady Atsuno had been a longtime staple in the royal palace and had helped deliver not only Fire Lord Zuko, but his sister Princess Azula and older cousin Prince Lu Ten as well. It had been years since she had seen the Dragon of the West, but she never forgot a face - and neither did he.

She turned to address the others with a slight frown painting her features.

“I’ve been told that the father is unaware of the current situation,” she said in hushed tones. “None of you would happen to know his whereabouts, would you?”

Hakoda stood up and exhaled through his nose in an attempt to calm his nerves.

“I’m Katara’s father,” he said coolly, although fear crept into his eyes. “Is my daughter going to be alright?”

But Atsuno shook her head.

“My apologies, I should have clarified. I meant the _baby’s_ father.”

This time Iroh actually dropped his teacup and it shattered, and it wasn’t the only one as Aang and Sokka dropped theirs as well.

After a split second, Toph decided it was in her best interest to play along and she also let her cup fall to the ground, where it also broke into shards. She quickly bended the floor underneath Suki and made hers drop, too.

Atsuno’s eyes widened and she gasped in dismay.

“Oh… oh my,” she finally squeaked as everyone else stared at her in bewilderment, save for the two present who already knew but were pretending like they didn’t. “I… I thought you already knew…”

Sokka was the first one who spoke – squawked, rather – after a long, stunned silence.

“Right, because _these_ are the faces of people in the know!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclaimer - I'm running on Rule of Melodrama for this fic, which you've probably figured out by now. Buckle up and break out the 🍿, it's about to get MESSY... Also, you guys are going to haaaate me for the cliffhanger at the end, but this chapter is already emotionally-charged and long enough as it is. Enjoy!

Katara let out a sigh as she finished tying up her sarashi and slipped on her nightgown. 

It was official, and she couldn’t deny the truth even if she wanted to – Lady Atsuno had assured her that she was undoubtedly pregnant. Assuming there were no complications, by this time next year she and Zuko would be parents to a happy, healthy baby.

Imagine that – them as parents.

With a _baby_.

The thought both terrified and delighted her, all at the same time.

A _baby_.

Somehow she’d managed to keep it together without crying during the examination and brief interrogation afterward. She was asked if she knew exactly when the conception happened (yes), had she ever been pregnant before (spirits, _no_ ), and would she and the father be able to support the baby once it arrived.

She was tempted to burst into mirthless laughter at that last question but stopped herself just in time.

Considering this baby was the (technically illegitimate) child of the Fire Lord, she certainly _hoped_ their child would have a roof over their head and enough food to sustain it, not to mention plenty of love and protection. 

Thankfully, Lady Atsuno hadn’t pried when her patient refused to name the father. Instead, she just nodded solemnly in understanding when Katara explained how the father of their child didn’t know yet that she was expecting.

Apparently, she should have clarified that _no one else_ knew she was pregnant, either.

Katara settled down in her bed as the midwife assured her that all would be well, and she would go fetch Suki and Toph to keep her company from the antechamber.

Her eyes were heavy as she fluffed up her pillow before she laid her head down. Being sick off and on for an entire morning had utterly drained her, and she wanted nothing more than to just close her eyes for the rest of the day.

Maybe that was why her guard was down, perhaps.

However, she quickly forgot about sleep once Lady Atsuno opened the door and she heard Iroh’s surprised voice greeting the midwife by name.

 _He knows who she is and why she's here_ , Katara realized in horror as she heard the midwife ask for the father’s whereabouts. Oh no, this could not possibly get any worse…

Then she heard her own father’s voice, and she shoved her face into a pillow to muffle her scream.

Even if she leapt out of bed and rushed to the doorway, she wouldn’t be able to stop her in time. Katara could only listen, too stunned to even screech, as the well-meaning but clueless midwife unintentionally revealed her pregnancy to whoever was out there waiting for her.

Oh, what a fool she’d been. Things could always get much, much worse.

Then she heard the sound of several things breaking as if in shock and her brother’s furiously indigent squawk, and Katara swore under her breath.

Personally, she was against swearing in general, but she thought the spirits owed her this one time, so she let out a soft string of profanities that even Toph would have balked at.

 _Well_ , she thought gloomily as she climbed back out bed and pulled on her dressing gown, _better get this over with_. 

~*~*~

“KATARA!” Sokka shouted out as he brushed past the midwife. “WHERE IS MY SISTER?!”

He ran into the bedroom and skidded to a stop when he saw Katara standing beside the bed, arms folded with a dark scowl on her face.

“Oh, hey Sokka, what’s up, bro?” she snarked as the others rushed in, followed by a profusely apologizing Lady Atsuno.

It wasn’t the most tactful response, but she had spent all morning long throwing up and being examined by doctors, and on top of it all she had received life-changing news that could upend the fragile peace they had fought so hard to achieve.

Katara was exhausted and starving and _pregnant_ , so she thought she deserved to be crass just this once.

Thank the spirits that Zuko wasn’t among their group, which Katara considered to be some small blessing. At least she still might have the chance to tell him the news herself... but at the rate this day was going, she highly doubted that she would be that fortunate.

“My lady, I’m so sorry! I assumed your friends had told them already, I didn’t realize-” the midwife began tearfully, wringing her hands, but Katara held up her hand to stop her.

“It’s… there’s no sense in worrying about it now, Lady Atsuno,” she grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I never told you _not_ to tell my family, after all.”

Katara tuned everyone else out for a moment as she was flooded with a barrage of questions from her brother and Aang, which thankfully Suki and Toph were trying to counter on her behalf without giving anything away.

She heard Iroh politely thank the midwife for her services as the two stood near the doorway and sent her away, instructing Lady Atsuno not to breathe a word of this to anyone at all, not even the Fire Lord himself.

Only her father remained silent, watching her with an unreadable expression on his face with his arms crossed. At last he spoke, and the others immediately quieted down at the sound of his low, rumbling voice.

“Katara… how long have you known?”

She sighed and forced herself to meet his gaze. If nothing else, she owed it to herself to not be weak or intimidated.

“Since this morning,” she answered, feeling tears flooding her eyes despite her best efforts not to cry. “Dad, I’m so sorry, this isn’t how I wanted you – any of you – to find out.”

Hakoda said nothing but let out a deep breath, and the silence that followed seemed to stretch on forever. Then he held out his arms, and she quickly filled them.

“Oh, Snowflake,” he murmured, giving his daughter a gentle squeeze when he felt his shoulder grow damp. “I’m not angry. I just want what’s best for you. Whatever happens, I’ll always love you, sweetie.”

She sniffled slightly and wiped her eyes.

“You’re… you’re not upset?” she asked incredulously, looking up. “Why are you so calm? Shouldn’t you be furious?”

His eyes were warm as they gazed down at her, but she could see sadness in them, too.

“I had my suspicions when they told us that you’d been sick all morning long, but I didn’t know for sure until just now,” Hakoda said gently. “Your mother was just as sick for the first few mornings when she found out she was pregnant with you and your brother.”

Oh. Well, that could have gone a lot worse, she supposed.

As her father hugged her again tightly – but not too tightly – Katara finally looked around the room to take stock of the others’ reactions.

Suki and Toph were giving her grim, apologetic smiles for support. Thank goodness she had those two in her corner, and she was never more grateful to have them as her best friends.

Iroh too was smiling sadly at her in encouragement, although she knew the old general well enough by now to know that he was inwardly calculating something. Perhaps he had already figured it out.

Sokka however looked agitated and his eye was twitching, as if he were about to start yelling again.

And Aang…

Katara was reminded of how crestfallen and helpless her friend had looked after the failed invasion on the Day of Black Sun, how distraught he’d been but somehow managed to keep it together in front of the others.

She could see that Aang was completely heartbroken despite his deceptively calm exterior, although she could sense anger brimming somewhere beneath the surface as well.

He met her gaze for a moment before she had to look away, and the look of utter betrayal and desolation in his eyes made her chest ache for some reason. She owed him nothing; they had never established themselves as anything more than close friends.

Granted, they had kissed twice – the first was her idea to escape from the Cave of Two Lovers, and it had been a sweet, chaste kiss. The second time he had instigated it the night of the play, and she had pushed him away in anger afterwards, so it should have been clear that she wasn’t interested.

But still.

Aang was her friend, and even though she didn’t return his feelings, it still hurt her heart to see him look so upset.

~*~*~

Finally Hakoda spoke again, and his voice sounded a little strained, almost as if he knew the answer to the question already but was hopeful that he was wrong.

“So… who’s the father? The midwife said he was unaware of your pregnancy.”

Katara sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. Before she could speak, however, her brother cut her off.

“Is it Haru? It’s Haru, isn’t it. I thought I could trust that guy, but I’m going to track him down and – ”

“Sokka, no!” she snapped, feeling her patience evaporate completely. “I haven’t even seen Haru since the coronation, and the time before that was several months ago. Besides, he and I were never anything more than friends.”

Aang flinched at the word “friends” and crossed his arms as he stared at the floor, and she wasn’t sure if that made her feel any better or not.

Meanwhile, Suki sat on the bed beside her, comfortingly patting her shoulder.

“I’ll tell you, but… remember he doesn’t know yet, and it’s not his fault – ” Katara began, and her brother let out a snort of derision.

“ _Sure_ it’s not,” Sokka said coldly. “But I think Dad and I should be the judges of that. Who’s the guy, sis? Also, when did… _this_ happen?” he added, waving his hands in a vague gesture towards her stomach.

Katara bit her lip and winced as she waited for the outburst that was sure to follow soon.

“It happened the last night at the beach house…” she said quietly as she waited for the others to piece it together.

It didn’t take long. She heard Iroh inhale sharply, and her father’s face grew pale as he realized the truth. Then he exhaled and sat down in a nearby chair, resting his forehead against the heel of his palm.

The Avatar at first looked as stunned as if he’d been slapped, but that quickly gave way to fury.

“So… you turned me down because, in your own words, we were in the middle of a war and it wasn’t the right time,” he hissed. “But even though it wasn’t the _right time_ , you still managed to find time to end up in his bed.”

“That’s not how it happened!” she retorted, angry tears streaming down her face. “I’m… I’m sorry Aang, but I tried to let you down easy – ”

“Oh, and finding out this way makes me feel _so_ much better,” he growled.

Without another word he spun around and stormed out of the bedroom.

“Aang, wait!” she called out, suddenly fearful. “Come back. He doesn’t know, please don’t…”

But he was gone, slamming the door behind him, and the rest of the sentence died on her lips.

~*~*~

Her brother just stared at her in silence, gawking openmouthed until he finally regained his senses, and his blue eyes turned icy. 

“You’ve _got_ to be kidding me,” he finally said in a low, dangerous voice that she’d never heard him use before. “ _Zuko?_ My sister and my best friend… well, _ex_ best friend now…” 

“Sokka,” she warned, which he ignored.

“How could he… I’m going to _kill_ him,” he declared, whirling around to interrogate the old general. “Did you know anything about this?”

Iroh shook his head somberly.

“I assure you that I did not,” he said evenly, but his voice shook a little towards the end all the same. “But believe me, I know my nephew will do the honorable thing…” 

“Oh, he _better_ ,” Sokka growled.

Then he looked over at his girlfriend and Toph, who had joined the other girls and was now sitting on the bed’s edge beside Katara. His eyes narrowed in realization.

“You both knew already, didn’t you.”

Suki sighed.

“We knew that they slept together, yes,” she admitted. “We’ve known since the morning after-”

“You knew?! And you didn’t tell me?!”

Toph spoke up, cutting off Suki’s indigent reply and answering for them both.

“ _Because_ Sokka, we knew you’d freak out just like you are now. Besides, it’s no one else’s business – ”

“Right,” he snorted, “says the two who had a bet going on about which one would make the first move – ”

“Wait, _what_?” Katara interrupted, her head swiveling to stare at her friends in disbelief. “You two had a _bet_?”

Toph rolled her eyes.

“Yes Sugar Queen, Suki and I had a bet on which one of you would make the first move. I may be blind, but even I could see you two had a thing for each other.”

Katara could only stare at her two friends as her jaw dropped. Suki gave her a gentle pat on the back and turned to address the chief and general, who were exchanging slightly confused glances with each other.

“It was pretty obvious to the rest of us – except for Sokka, who somehow missed it – that those two were head over heels for each other, long before they… well…”

Sokka opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by polite yet frantic knocking on the door to the antechamber from out in the hallway.

“Katara!” they heard the Fire Lord calling out from the other side, a sense of urgency in his voice.

Oh, _no_ , she thought, swallowing as she suddenly felt nauseated all over again.

Katara stood up slowly as her brother and father exchanged a long, unspoken look with each other, and finally Hakoda nodded.

“Get the door, son,” the chief said coolly as he too stood up.

Sokka nodded in reply and strode through the antechamber to the outer door, pausing to take a deep breath before he threw it open.

~*~*~

 _Finally_ , Zuko thought to himself as he hurried down the corridors in the direction towards Katara’s bedroom.

He had been as polite as possible talking with King Kuei’s representative, answering all of his questions about life in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, but the man had been insistent on talking his ears off.

In fact, he had seemed determined to keep the Fire Lord’s attention all day long until at long last, Zuko had respectfully yet firmly taken his leave, promising another conversation in the near future.

“My apologies,” he had said with a bow. “I’d love to stay and discuss this with you further, but if you don’t mind, I’d really like to go check on my friend, the one who has been sick all morning…”

“Oh of course! Do pass along my sympathies…”

After that, Zuko had practically sprinted out of the conference room, stopping by his own bedroom just long enough to change out of his bulky robes into something far less ornate. He figured if Katara was still sick, he wanted to be as comfortable as possible while he cared for her.

He carefully removed his crown and let his hair down, shaking his head slightly to help all of the loose strands fall, and then he was finally, _finally_ on his way to go see her.

A million thoughts raced through his mind as he took long, lumbering strides that slowly but surely brought him closer to her side.

 _Walk, don’t run_ , he kept telling himself. _At least try to act rational_.

What was wrong with her? Surely it was nothing too serious, or someone would have fetched him by now…

Zuko was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even see one of his closest friends approaching until he collided with him as both rounded the corner leading to the hallway that housed Katara’s bedroom.

Judging by the intensity of the impact, it was clear he wasn’t the only who hadn’t been paying attention.

Zuko let out a loud grunt but when he realized who it was, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Aang!” he exclaimed. “So sorry about that, didn’t even see you there, buddy. Are you okay?”

It took him a second to realize that the Avatar looked far less happy to see him – in fact, he looked absolutely _livid_ , and Zuko stepped back instinctively.

He hesitated for a few seconds, sweating a little under the intensity of his friend’s glare.

“Aang,” he said again earnestly, swallowing. “What’s wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?”

The Avatar just glowered and crossed his arms, and eventually he spoke.

“I suppose I should be _congratulating_ you,” he snarled, and Zuko recoiled at the venom in his voice.

What was with his friend? Zuko didn’t have his broadswords or any weapons on him, but if he had to defend himself by firebending, then so be it. The Avatar seemed to be itching for a fight, although Zuko hoped he could talk his friend down before it came to that.

“What are you talking about?” Zuko asked patiently, carefully moving his feet into a defensive stance that should keep him rooted, just in case...

“Oh that’s _right_ , you don’t know yet,” Aang snapped. “Well, you’re about to find out. I know all about you and Katara. All of us do now, actually.”

Zuko’s blood ran cold.

 _Oh_ , he thought weakly. Well, that certainly explained his friend’s fury.

Zuko had known long before he decided to join their side that the Avatar harbored feelings for his waterbending teacher – it had been so painfully obvious at times, but she never seemed to outright return the airbender’s affections.

So he hadn’t felt guilty when Katara asked him to sleep in her room that last night at the beach house or even when they’d escalated things mere minutes later – in fact, he refused to feel remorse about that night. He had known long before he crawled into her bed that he shouldn’t get his hopes up, but he had regardless…

And he couldn’t help that he had fallen in love with her, after all.

The memory of how heavenly she felt as he held her safe in his arms that night, especially after he had finished trembling and breathless in hers, was one that he knew he’d cherish for the remainder of his days.

Why should he feel guilty, anyways? He too had feelings for her, and she’d actually reciprocated _his…_ at least until the next morning when she’d had second thoughts. But they’d eventually worked things out and had a plan now for their future together…

… which now everyone else knew about, apparently. So much for secrecy.

Zuko knew his friend still loved Katara on some level, though, and he did feel bad that Aang’s heart had undoubtedly been shattered by the news.

“Listen,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry you found out this way, because I know how you feel about her, too, but… I love her, Aang.”

His friend exhaled and looked away.

“I can’t be around you right now,” he gritted out. “Keeping the peace is too important for us to fight, especially in public…”

“Aang…” the Fire Lord began, but his friend shoulder-checked him as he stormed off.

Zuko was left standing alone in the hallway, staring after him in astonishment.

~*~*~

So Katara had told the others about their plan then, how he intended to court her properly once he had settled some things in the Fire Nation first.

He also wanted to marry her, too, but he had kept that particular plan to himself. He had been certain of that since the moment he opened his eyes after she saved him from the brink of death after the lightning, and he saw her lovely face smiling down at him in relief.

That was an entirely different obstacle they would have to overcome at some point in the future, however, and by the time they were officially courting, he was hopeful that he could have figured out how to make that union a reality.

But what could have possessed Katara to tell everyone else their plan _now?_

In a strange way he was relieved that everyone was on the same page, though, and he thought their other friends would at least be more supportive.

After all, Sokka had practically given him his blessing to date his sister that night they’d hunted down June and followed the trail leading to his uncle, so that at least was one less thing to worry about.

With a sigh of resignation, he squared his shoulders and ran the rest of the way to Katara’s bedroom. He all but pounded on the door to the antechamber leading into her bedroom when he arrived, calling out her name urgently.

After what seemed like forever the door finally swung open, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his other best friend on the other side.

“Sokka!” he exclaimed. “Hey buddy, how’s Kat – ”

Then Zuko found himself yanked unceremoniously inside the door, and he let out a yelp of surprise as his back slammed against one of the antechamber’s walls, and the door slammed shut behind him.

It was only once he caught his breath that he realized his friend’s jawbone dagger was pressed directly up to his throat, and there was an almost murderous look in his icy blue eyes.

Before Zuko could react or ask his friend what the _hell_ he was doing, Sokka leaned in closer and glowered at him.

“Hey, _buddy_ ,” he hissed. “I think you and I need to have a little talk about my sister.”

The Fire Lord exhaled and tried to calm his pounding heart.

"Sokka, why are you freaking out like this? I thought you'd be happy once you found out – ”

"Happy?!" his friend all but roared. "Of course I'm not happy about it. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't castrate you right here, right now."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The good news - two whole chapters in two days? Yay! 
> 
> The bad news - sorry, the Big Reveal still doesn't happen by the end of this one, although other important things are brought to light - namely, why Sokka is acting the way that he is. There's also another big cliffhanger, sorry not sorry y'all.
> 
> Anyways, to preview: Toph is a complete troll (and starts getting her revenge for being subjected to her friends hooking up in the next room), Sokka at long last gets his comeuppance, and our poor beleaguered Fire Lord finally receives some catharsis for his terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day (which will soon get much, MUCH happier.)

“Are you crazy?” Zuko hissed, returning his friend’s glare with one of his own. “If any of the guards saw or heard you just now, you’d be a dead man! What has gotten into you?!”

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed his uncle and the others rush in at the sound of the commotion, and – _oh thank Agni_ , there she was.

So Katara at least wasn’t crippled by illness, although she looked rightfully incensed and a bit exhausted, if he was being honest.

“Sokka!” she admonished as she all but stomped over to them. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Your brother is trying to get himself arrested for assaulting me, that’s what,” Zuko snapped before he turned his head slightly to face her, and his tone and features softened considerably. “Are you okay? How are you feeling, Katara? They said you’ve been sick all morning, is it serious – ”

“Look, buddy,” Sokka cut him off, and Zuko shot him a truly epic death glare for that interruption, “you’ve got more important things to worry about – ow, ow!”

Sokka hissed as his friend somehow slipped loose from his grasp in a move he didn’t quite see, grabbing and twisting his wrist until he dropped the dagger. He promptly found himself shoved face first against the wall with a hand on the back of his neck, holding him in place, and his own hands secured behind his back by an extremely disgruntled Fire Lord.

“One, if you point a blade at me like that, you better be ready to use it, don’t just stand around talking,” Zuko growled. “Two, like I said, you’re lucky no guards happened to be nearby and heard you threatening me. Do you understand what I’m _not_ saying?”

Sokka let out a groan and nodded.

Zuko sighed and released his friend, who dusted himself off and picked up his jawbone dagger, storing it away safely in his belt. He crossed his arms defensively, and the Fire Lord did the same.

The two glared at each other for a moment before Zuko spoke up, feeling a headache coming on.

“Look, can someone _please_ just tell me what is going on? What’s wrong with Katara?” he asked, holding out his arms with his palms upturned, appealing to his friend’s sense of magnanimity. “And Sokka, why are you freaking out and threatening to… well, that?”

He paused, wincing and decided he didn’t want to finish that particular trail of thought. Zuko ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it up a bit, and the loose strands fell back into place as he continued.

“Look, I’m just really lost at the moment. I saw Aang in the hallway on the way over here, and – ” 

“Wait, you saw Aang?” Katara interrupted, looking up at him nervously. “Did he… did he say anything?”

Zuko’s heart broke a little seeing the terrified expression on her face, and he reached out to take her hands in his, giving them a warm, gentle squeeze.

Everyone else already knew about their relationship, apparently, so he supposed there was no point in hiding it anymore.

“He said everyone knew… about us,” Zuko said softly, giving her a lopsided smile. “I’m confused, though, I guess, why you decided to tell them about the plan right now. I’m not upset or anything, but I thought we were going to wait a few months…”

He trailed off as Katara shook her head, who still seemed to be nervous but relieved now as well.

“I haven’t told them about the plan yet,” she said. “I was going to, but then you showed up and well…”

He raised his eyebrow in confusion as the others exchanged looks amongst themselves.

“Wait, so if you didn’t tell them about the plan… how do they know about…?”

Hakoda cleared his throat and stepped forward, folding his arms with a slight frown on his face.

Zuko realized he should probably face his future (or so he hoped) father-in-law like a man for whatever he was about to say next. He gave Katara a wink of reassurance and turned to look at the chief in the eye, still holding one of her hands.

He had grown a few inches over the last few years, so while he wasn’t quite eye level with her father, at least he wasn’t tilting his head backwards to look up at him like an awestruck child.

“We haven’t heard anything about a plan,” Hakoda’s said in a low, rumbling voice, and Zuko got the distinct impression he was about to be judged for some reason. “However, we _did_ find out what happened the last night at your family’s beach house – namely, that you slept with my daughter.”

… _oh_ , he thought to himself feebly.

 _Fuck_.

~*~*~

The Fire Lord prided himself on the fact that he was not easily intimidated by anyone, especially during confrontations against benders or soldiers who wanted nothing more than to beat him to a bloody pulp.

He could also easily hold his own in a fight against larger, burlier men such as Chit Sang or perhaps that one bulky Northern Water Tribe soldier from Chief Arnook’s army, who he’d never actually fought but still eyed him with thinly veiled disdain each time they passed each other in the palace hallways.

Few things in this world truly unnerved Zuko, but facing off against the father of the woman he loved – the chief of the Southern Water Tribe and one of his most critical allies, to boot – who knew for a fact that he had slept with his daughter and taken her virtue…

… well, _that_ was one of them. His mind went blank, and his tongue seemed as heavy as lead.

Zuko could have sworn his heart stopped for a moment, too, and he was sure all of the blood had drained from his face.

 _That_ certainly explained the animosity from his two best friends earlier, then.

Aang had obviously been in a jealous rage, and Sokka was going into (over)protective older brother mode… although Zuko still planned to make him pay for that nasty castration threat. Ugh.

Thankfully, Hakoda seemed calm enough, all things considered. Zuko supposed the chief could simply be concealing his anger and waiting for the opportune moment to unleash it, so he knew better than to let his guard down just yet.

But the real question, is how did they find out about _that?_

He gulped louder than he meant to and steeled himself as he realized that he should probably say something soon.

“I … yes, sir,” he stammered out, mentally kicking himself at how squeaky and utterly pathetic he sounded.

Seriously, did they have to have this conversation in front of _everyone_? Maybe he should go pick several of his subjects from the city at random to come watch their Fire Lord make a complete fool of himself for good measure, since this was already turning into a spectacle.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his uncle wince in sympathy. He cleared his throat, straightened his shoulders, and he made sure his next words came out much stronger.

“That’s correct, sir,” he said, deciding to err on the side of caution by using honorifics, “and you should know that it wasn’t just a meaningless fling or anything like that on my part.”

“Is that so?” the chief asked coolly, narrowing his eyes.

Zuko took a deep breath and decided to be honest. He’d already incurred the wrath of the Avatar (only the most powerful bender of their time, no big deal) _and_ been threatened with horrific dismemberment. What else did he have to lose?

“I love her,” he blurted out, feeling his cheeks flush slightly. 

There was a long silence, and he was sure the others could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

His uncle, Suki, and Toph looked absolutely ecstatic by this admission, as if they had just watched the two leads finally end up together in the sappiest, most romantic play ever.

Meanwhile, Sokka still looked skeptical for some reason – seriously, what was up with him?

Hakoda’s eyes never left the Fire Lord’s face, although Zuko could have sworn he saw the faintest trace of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips before it quickly vanished.

Katara gave his hand a gentle squeeze in encouragement and to his relief, she moved closer to stand directly beside him, and he cautiously wrapped his arm around her lower back. 

“I know this is a lot to take in all at once, Dad, and we wanted to tell you in a different way, but… I realized some time ago that I love him, too,” she said, and her radiant smile made Zuko’s heart flutter.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Sokka cut him off.

“Sorry, I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around this whole thing. My _best friend_ , and my _sister_ … my best friend, who just happens to be the Fire Lord, is in love with my sister, or so he claims – ”

“And I love him too, Sokka,” Katara interjected, narrowing her eyes.

“It’s the truth, I swear on my life,” Zuko added earnestly. “You already knew how I feel about her, and back when we were searching for my uncle a few nights before the comet, you even gave me your blessing. What happened to your whole ‘I’m not opposed to the two of you ending up together, go for it’ speech from that night?”

Sokka raised his eyebrow and folded his arms.

“That was _before_ I knew you slept with her,” he replied coolly. “Seriously, how are you surprised that I’m upset that you somehow managed to seduce my sweet, innocent baby sister – ”

“Sokka, he didn’t seduce me,” Katara interrupted, her cheeks flushed.

“That’s… not… I didn’t seduce her,” Zuko said at the same time, his face also turning pink.

He was more awkward than a baby turtleduck learning how to waddle for the first time; he highly doubted he was capable of actually _seducing_ anyone. If Katara hadn't made the first move, he would undoubtedly still be pining for her.

But Sokka ignored them both and continued. 

“Look, all I know is that the morning after… _it_ happened… is that I walked into the kitchen and saw this guy looking awfully pleased with himself, and a short time later I saw Katara upset and on the verge of tears. Every time I so much as mentioned his name, she flinched. So now that I know what I know what happened the night before, what else am I supposed to think, except that you made her do… _that_ … and she was all bummed out about it the next day?”

Zuko exchanged a dumbfounded look with Katara.

“That’s not exactly what happened…” he protested. “Wait, is that why you threatened me earlier?”

Katara, however, blinked silently several times and finally burst into a full belly laugh, doubled over, and they all stared at her in confusion.

“Sorry, I’m past the point of exhaustion, and if I didn’t laugh I’d probably water whip you over the head,” she wheezed when she could finally talk again. “Sokka, my sweet, dumb brother, I love you, but your instincts were way off this time. _I’m_ the one who instigated it.”

Sokka blanched as Hakoda let out a sigh, dragging his hand down his face, and he seemed very _tired_ all of a sudden by the direction this conversation had taken. 

“Wait, Katara, _you_ were the one who…?” her brother asked in a small voice.

“Yes, you _idiot,_ ” she replied, with no small amount of frustration. “ _He_ didn’t talk me into doing anything. _I’m_ the one who asked him to spend the night and then… things kind of escalated from there, which _I_ instigated as well.”

For some reason Suki smirked and elbowed Toph upon hearing this, who scowled and crossed her arms, but the two said nothing out loud.

“Sokka,” Zuko said calmly, hoping his friend would see reason, “I would never force anyone into doing something like that, least of all your sister. Besides, you even said yourself that if she asked me to jump off a cliff or something, I’d apparently just go along with it.”

The others nodded and voiced their agreements.

“Yeah, he totally would, sorry Zuko,” Suki deadpanned. 

“I’ve noticed that my nephew is quite infatuated with Miss Katara, and he does seem to take her wishes into account more often than not,” Iroh added, stroking his beard thoughtfully. 

“Sugar Queen has got Sifu Hotman _whipped_ , Snoozles,” Toph declared. “In fact, we had a term for that type of whipped that the wrestlers used all the time in the Earth Rumbles. They would say that she’s got him pu – ”

“ _TOPH_ ,” they all admonished, grimacing. “ _No_.”

“You shouldn’t even know that term!” Katara hissed, her cheeks flushing. “And I do not have him… _whipped_ … like that.”

Zuko folded his arms and scowled. _Technically_ she kinda did, considering how much he enjoyed being dominated by her (especially in bed that one time), but the Fire Nation itself would freeze over before he ever admitted it out loud.

“Exactly,” he snapped, feeling his face turn scarlet all over.

“But… but…” Sokka sputtered, “Katara, if _you_ were the one who instigated it, why were you so upset the next morning? I’m so confused.”

Iroh cleared his throat.

“Perhaps we should all take a moment to calm down, and you two can explain exactly what happened, then. That would help clear things up. I’ll have a servant bring us another pot of tea, if you’d like.”

~*~*~

A short time later, their group had settled into one of the palace’s more private meeting rooms, often used for hosting after-dinner conversations. Best of all, it was also soundproof from the outside.

The Fire Lord offered to pour the tea himself once it arrived, but his uncle insisted on serving it instead.

So Zuko sat beside Katara on one of the couches facing the others, as if in an interrogation. He laced their fingers together and smiled at her in reassurance, which she returned with one of her own.

Once they had all settled in, Hakoda nodded in their direction.

“Well, just start from the beginning, I suppose,” he said somewhat wearily. “Tell us what happened that night."

"And leave out the gory details about... you know," Sokka added, wrinkling his nose as his sister scoffed and the Fire Lord covered his blushing face momentarily with his hand.

Then they took turns as they explained how both of them had been unable to sleep that last night at the beach house and how they’d encountered each other in the darkened hallways; how they’d sat outside watching the fireflies afterwards and how he’d helped guide her back to her bedroom once she started to doze off; and how she’d asked him to stay the night and how they’d finally admitted their feelings for each other.

“…and that’s when you made the first move, right Katara?” Suki asked, smirking once more.

Zuko tilted his head and gave her a questioning look.

“These two had a bet apparently about which of us would make the first move,” Katara explained in response to his visible confusion, rolling her eyes. “Take a wild guess who won that one.”

He rolled his eyes as well.

“Seriously?” he asked, not even bothering to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “Didn’t you two have anything better to do?”

Toph snorted.

“Not our fault that you lovebirds took your dear, sweet time coming clean to each other and got down and dirty a few minutes later,” she deadpanned. “Which I sensed, by the way, so thanks for that free show.”

Zuko let out a groan of dismay and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Right.

Her room had been right next to Katara’s…

“Oh Toph, I’m so sorry,” he mumbled sheepishly, feeling his ears burning.

She waved her hand absentmindedly.

“For what it’s worth, Sifu Hotman, you put on a pretty good performance that Sugar Queen really seemed to enjoy – ”

“ _Shut up_ , Toph,” both hissed as she cackled.

Hakoda and Sokka looked entirely unamused, and the Fire Lord found himself sweating just a little under the intensity of their glares.

Thankfully, Suki decided to be merciful and intervened. 

“So _anyways_ , skipping ahead to the next morning,” she said, prodding the conversation along. “Then what happened?”

Katara gave her friend a grateful look and explained how she’d woken up the next day and panicked, and how she had been so worried about how everyone else would react that she worked herself into a frenzy.

As she spoke Zuko watched her, frowning slightly. Her complete change of heart the following morning suddenly made sense now, he thought. 

Then both of them explained how they had argued in the hallway shortly after (which Suki had overheard, apparently. Honestly, it was a miracle their night together had remained a secret as long as it did, what with two-thirds of their group knowing about it.)

“After that, I went off to go calm down and meditate, and Katara went downstairs to drink a cup of silphium tea,” Zuko explained, giving her hand a squeeze.

He turned his head towards her with a smile, which slowly faded when he saw her look of nervousness had returned. Zuko tilted his head in confusion as Hakoda spoke up.

“I beg your pardon; what type of tea was this?”

Zuko nodded along absentmindedly as his uncle explained exactly what silphium tea was and how it was most often used as a contraceptive, especially among the women of Ba Sing Se.

Katara had a strange look on her face, however, and come to think of it, Sokka did, too…

… _all_ of the others did now, actually…

“Wait, wait, hold up,” Sokka said slowly, turning towards Zuko. “I thought you said that the tea you were brewing for my sister was licorice root…”

“Yeah, I did,” Zuko explained patiently, “but it was actually silphium. It looks and smells like licorice root, except it’s much more bitter. I wasn’t sure if you knew what silphium was, but I didn’t want to make a big deal of it, so I told you it was licorice root instead.”

Toph for some unknown reason decided to add her two cents to the conversation.

“Yeah, can you blame the guy? He probably didn’t want to advertise that he just slept with your sister – ”

“ _Shut up, Toph_!” several voices chorused in exasperation as she chortled wickedly.

“Are you _trying_ to get me castrated?” Zuko snapped, covering his furiously blushing face.

Thankfully, Suki was there to save the day again and steered the conversation back on track. 

“I’ve had both blends before, and he’s right, they look similar but the taste couldn’t be more different,” she explained to the others as they calmed down. “Silphium’s what I drank at the beach house, babe.”

Sokka blushed slightly and pondered this for a moment, while Katara looked down at the floor, as if something was dawning on her.

Before Zuko could ask her what was wrong, her brother spoke up again.

“So… what did you brew for me?” Sokka asked, tilting his head. “I asked for licorice root, because I wanted to try it out…”

“Yes, you actually got the licorice root,” Zuko clarified. “She got the silphium.”

He was turning back to face Katara when he heard her brother let out a long, high-pitched obnoxious _screech_ that echoed throughout the room and seemed to drag on for a full minute.

~*~*~

Zuko clamped his hands over his ears and hissed as the others followed suit.

He glared at his friend, who noticed everyone’s faces had contorted in pain, and he turned pale once he finally, finally stopped.

“What is your _problem_?!” Zuko snapped.

Sokka tried to speak but his voice cracked, and he clapped his hands over his mouth.

Katara seemed to be calculating something to herself now, too, and when she figured it out her eyes widened in shock, and her jaw dropped.

“Hey, buddy,” Sokka said weakly, “so, um, _funny_ story, you’re _really_ going to get a kick out of this… remember the bag of fire flakes that I found that morning?”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed. 

“The ones that I told you to throw out because there was no telling how old they were?”

Sokka nodded guiltily.

“Um, yeah, about that… so I actually tried a handful, and you know, you were absolutely, totally right! They were expired, and if it makes you feel any better, they were incredibly gross, and well, I needed something to wash the bad taste out of my mouth and since my cup of tea was still scalding hot – oh and remember how at the time I thought both cups were the same blend – and I, um, well… _kindadrankKatara’scupoftea_ …”

It took their group a few seconds for all of that to register, but once it did, Hakoda’s jaw dropped, as did Iroh’s, and Suki and Toph let out a gasp of shock.

“Sokka, you _didn’t_ ,” his girlfriend groaned, covering her mouth with her hands. 

Meanwhile, Zuko and Katara exchanged a long, unspoken look with each other and stood up at the same time, as both unleashed their rage all at once.

“YOU DID _WHAT_?!” he roared, reminiscent of the hotheaded, explosive prince back in his younger days. “What is the _matter_ with you?! Why, _why_ would you drink something that didn’t belong to you?”

“ARE YOU _KIDDING_ ME?!” Katara bellowed, her fury no less palpable. “Sokka, I can’t – believe – how – stupid – you – are!”

She emphasized each word of that last sentence with corresponding smacks on her brother’s arm, and he cowered.

"You said that morning that you had a cup of licorice root tea, which apparently was _mine_ , and it tasted weird," she added huffily. "You said you took a few sips and poured the rest of it out..."

"YOU POURED IT OUT?!" Zuko exclaimed, exhaling smoke and flames. “ _Why_ , Sokka, what would possess you to do something like that?!” 

This day had been going so horribly – first he’d been worried about Katara being sick, then he’d been detained for far too long after the meeting and couldn’t go see her right away, then he discovered that he’d made an enemy of his friend, the _Avatar himself_ …

 _And_ _on top of all that_ , he’d been threatened with castration by his other best friend, who he had just learned had intercepted the contraceptive tea meant for Katara. Then he'd had to admit to the chief of the Southern Water Tribe – _only_ one of his most important allies in this new era of peace – that he’d slept with his daughter (who just happened to be the love of his life, he was fairly certain, no big deal.)

Thank Agni she hadn't gotten pregnant (surely Katara would have told him by now if she'd, um, skipped something), because there was no telling how much trouble he'd be in right now. He wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of becoming a father one day, especially if it was with her... just not right now, he supposed. 

So the Fire Lord opted to let his anger blaze unhindered just for a few moments. At least the others didn’t seem to be bothered by it – in fact, they appeared to be just as indigent as he was by this latest revelation.

“You see something that’s meant for someone else, and you go and drink it?!” Zuko fumed. “How _stupid_ can you be? What if that was some life-saving medicine or something?”

Sokka let out a shrill squeak and turned to the others for support but found none. Suki cringed sympathetically, and Toph just shook her head with a “sorry, you’re on your own, Snoozles.”

Iroh leaned over and gestured for Hakoda to lean in as well.

“In case you were curious what my nephew’s temper used to be like before he decided to clean up his act, back when he was still hunting the Avatar… this is but a small taste,” he murmured. “The old him would have fried your son by now.”

The chief considered this and nodded.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t tried, to be honest,” Hakoda whispered back. “Can’t say he wouldn’t be a little justified, either.”

“I’ll stop him if he goes that far, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Iroh assured him. “Let my nephew get it out of his system, and he’ll be fine afterwards.”

~*~*~

Meanwhile, Sokka was still cringing several minutes later as Katara and Zuko took turns tearing into him.

“Okay, okay! Enough!” he finally squawked after an especially nasty verbal low blow from his sister. “Fine, alright, I shouldn’t have touched it, but why didn’t you just take it upstairs with you when you went to go see my sister?”

“Because I wrongly assumed I could trust you not to touch something that didn’t belong to you!” Zuko retorted.

He started to launch into yet another tirade when Katara sighed loudly beside him, as if in exhaustion.

She sat back down on the couch and reclined against the cushions, covering her face with her hands and let out a quiet groan, and immediately the Fire Lord’s rage dissipated.

“Katara?” he asked in concern, carefully sitting down beside her. “What’s wrong?” 

Hakoda watched this interaction with interest. So the raging dragon’s flames could be quelled, after all, and by his own daughter no less.

He hadn’t been entirely caught off guard by the Fire Lord’s admission that he loved Katara – in fact, based on what he’d heard about how Zuko had sacrificed himself for her sake during the Agni Kai against his sister, it made perfect sense.

Sure, the chief thought to himself, Zuko certainly had quite a temper, but then again so did his daughter… and the moment she needed support, he willingly let his anger go to attend to her needs.

That was a good sign, Hakoda mused, considering the circumstances…

Katara sat up and took Zuko’s hands in hers, exhaling slowly. She smiled weakly and rubbed circles into his palms with her thumbs, and she hesitated before she finally spoke again.

“There’s something important I need to tell you,” she began softly, “and now it all makes sense…”

He tilted his head in confusion.

“What is it?” he asked, and for some reason his heart pounded inside of his chest.

There was something obvious that he was missing, Zuko thought, something he knew must be staring him right in face…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, I legitimately was going to have The Big Reveal happen in this chapter... but then I got carried away, and 4K+ words later, I realized I needed to reach a stopping point. 
> 
> (Besides, it seemed like too much of a whiplash to go from Sokka's much-deserved verbal beatdown and Toph straight-up calling Zuko "p***y-whipped" by Katara, and then launch into the happy, fluffy pregnancy reveal.) 
> 
> But I promise, it WILL happen next chapter. ❤️


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Insert gif of Michael Scott from The Office running around screaming "Everybody stay calm! It's happening!!!" because Zuko FINALLY gets to find out, poor dude.* 
> 
> It's been a long, crazy week for all of us, so please enjoy some probably clichéd but super fluffy Zutara feels, because we ALL need it at this point.

Katara let out a sigh and gave Zuko a weak smile as she tried to figure out how she wanted to tell him.

She turned the words over in her mind, trying to decide what to say to make the shock as easy for him to digest as possible.

Obviously, she couldn’t just dump the news on him with absolutely no warning – _hey Zuko, guess what? I’m carrying your illegitimate child, your son or daughter who just happens to be heir to the Fire Nation, and it’s all thanks to my idiot brother’s meddling. Surpriiise._

No, that definitely would not go over well, even though she was sure he had to have figured it out by now.

She was vaguely aware that the others were discreetly watching from across the room, trying to give them space even though they would hear almost every word they whispered.

Part of her wanted to send everyone else outside, so this moment could be theirs and theirs alone; part of her was grateful for their presence, knowing that she had them for support. She didn’t expect Zuko to lose his temper or get angry, but she still felt a little nauseous all the same.

Before she could make up her mind, however, there was a hesitant knock on the door.

~*~*~

She let out a loud sigh of exasperation at this interruption, as did the others.

Zuko however continued watching her curiously, intently scanning her face for a clue. For a split second she saw his gaze flicker down towards her stomach, and she thought he’d finally pieced it together.

Something flashed in his eyes, and he opened his mouth to speak. Then he quickly clamped it shut as Iroh took it upon himself to answer the door, and the old general spoke in hushed tones with whoever was outside.

Zuko only tore his gaze away from her when his uncle finished whispering, and the Avatar sheepishly poked his head through the doorframe.

“Um… hi,” Aang said nervously. “Look, I know it’s not really a good time right now, but do you have a moment? There are a couple of things I’d like to say.”

Katara wanted to tug her hair out and scream but found herself nodding politely, as did Zuko, who reluctantly let go of her hands and stood up to greet his friend. 

The Avatar quietly walked inside the room and stopped when he stood a few feet away from them. To their surprise he bowed deeply, lightly pressing his fist against the heel of his palm.

“I… I just wanted to apologize for my actions and what I said earlier,” he said while ducking his head. “I was upset and should not have taken my anger out on either of you like I did. I hope both of you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.”

Zuko regarded him in silence for several seconds before he too bowed his head and his hands mirrored Aang’s.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely, and Katara smiled at her friend as well. “I’m sorry that your feelings were hurt, and believe me, this is not how we intended for you or everyone else to find out, but… I love her, and I'm not going to apologize for that.”

The Avatar flinched at this declaration but nodded all the same as he straightened his back. He folded his arms and a frown tugged the corners of his lips downwards.

“Can I ask you something?” Aang said. “Then I promise I’ll let you get back to what you were doing.”

Katara was thankful that her friend was trying to be the bigger person, but she sincerely hoped whatever he was about to ask Zuko wouldn’t take too long.

Zuko exhaled and nodded in agreement.

“Sure, what is it?”

The Avatar let out a deep sigh, almost as if he were already bracing himself for the answer he knew was coming. Then he brought himself up to his full height and his eyes met the Fire Lord’s, who returned his solemn gaze with one of his own.

“During the Agni Kai against your sister… you jumped in front of her lightning to protect Katara, even though you had to know that you were risking your life and the throne and even the outcome of the war itself.”

Zuko nodded.

“That’s right, I did,” he said evenly, “and if I had to, I would risk it all over again to save her.” 

There was a long silence as the Avatar pondered that.

“I would have done the same thing,” Aang eventually agreed. “I guess I just want to know _why_. Ever since we met you a few years ago, regaining your honor and reclaiming your birthright have been the two things you’ve wanted more than anything. But you were willing to throw all of that away for her sake, without a second thought…”

The Fire Lord’s lips twitched, and Katara’s stomach flipped over as he smiled tenderly down at her, his piercing golden eyes meeting her wide blue ones.

“Because I realized at that moment, that nothing else mattered,” he said softly. “It was like time itself froze and I could see several different outcomes. If I attacked Azula while her guard was down, sure, I would have won the throne, but _Katara_ …”

His voice wavered as he said her name, and he didn’t finish that sentence.

A few moments passed before he continued, and this time when he spoke, his voice was stronger, full of conviction, and his eyes blazed with a fire inside. 

“I knew _exactly_ what was at stake if I lost the Agni Kai,” he said, addressing Aang directly. “Even if you defeated my father, it would still be too late to save my country from Azula if she became Fire Lord. I knew the Fire Nation would burn to ashes under her reign and that securing the throne was critical to winning the war…” 

“I _knew_ all of that, but in that moment, when I had to make a split-second decision… I realized that even if I won, I would never forgive myself if Katara was killed. So I chose to sacrifice everything, even my own life if I had to, if there was even the slightest chance I could save hers.”

There was another long silence as everyone absorbed his words. Finally, Hakoda spoke.

“That was incredibly selfless, risking everything to save my daughter’s life like that,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did – ”

But Zuko held up his hand, shaking his head and smiling grimly.

“Thank you, but it was actually the most selfish thing I’ve ever done,” he admitted. “I knew Katara was strong enough to face my sister if she had to, but the reason why I accepted the challenge to an Agni Kai was because I didn’t want to risk her getting hurt.”

He seemed to debate internally before he spoke again.

“Because the truth is…. I would rather die than live in a world without Katara. If I had failed to protect her, and she had been seriously injured or killed… I didn’t see the point in living anymore.”

Her hands flew to cover her heart, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the others were just as affected.

This time her brother spoke up, breaking the silence.

“You're saying that you sacrificed yourself because you love her, but would you still have risked it all if she hadn’t returned your feelings in the end?” Sokka asked.

There was no hesitation in his voice when he responded.

“Of course,” Zuko nodded. “Remember, at the time I didn’t know that – we had reached a truce of sorts the night we found my uncle. I just wanted Katara to be safe and to walk away unharmed. It wasn’t some grand declaration of love, at least not in the sense of trying to win her heart.”

“I knew _exactly_ what I was giving up by taking the lightning for her… and if I had to, I would do it all over again as many times as it took to save her, without a second thought,” he continued. “As long as she survived, it wouldn’t have mattered if she chose someone else… as long as she was happy.”

Katara’s heart leapt into her throat as he sat down beside her, and she felt tears forming in her eyes, which she furiously blinked back.

“Because at the end of the day, I just want you to be happy, even if it’s not with me,” Zuko said softly, taking her hands in his and giving them a gentle squeeze. “Remember what I told you the morning we left Ember Island?”

She nodded tearfully as he continued.

“Figure out what _you_ want the most – not what I want, not what your family or your tribe or the rest of the world wants. Then once you’ve figured that out, go after it and don’t let anyone stop you.”

A few tears did slip out of the corners of her eyes then, and he reached up to gently wipe them away. Their eyes met, and he gave her a wink of reassurance.

“Can I tell them about the plan?” he asked, and she nodded, composing herself.

“It’s not going to work anymore,” she said quietly. “But go ahead.”

His eyes widened, no doubt assuming the worst. Still, he inhaled and continued speaking as he turned to face the others.

“After the war ended, once things had settled down and certain conversations were had, I was going to officially announce our courtship.”

Suki covered her mouth with her hands, Sokka had an ecstatic look upon his face, and even Toph seemed happier than usual. Iroh was positively beaming, and Hakoda had a small, contented smile upon his face. Aang too was smiling for his two friends, but it was obviously forced. 

Zuko allowed them a moment before he turned his full attention towards the chief.

“That’s why I scheduled that upcoming meeting with you later this week,” Zuko admitted. “I wanted to let you know in advance about my intentions… and to ask for your blessing.”

Katara tilted her head in his direction – he had never mentioned asking for her father’s blessing before. The only time a potential suitor did that was when…

Oh.

She let out a gasp at the sudden revelation.

Of _course_ he would, especially after everything he had just admitted. She had seen that coming from miles away, but the gravity of what he intended to do left her breathless all the same.

“That’s very considerate, but you don’t need to ask my blessing before starting a courtship,” the chief explained as his lips turned upwards when he too realized what the Fire Lord was implying. 

Zuko ducked his head and his cheeks turned pink. 

“I know,” he said softly. “I wanted it to be a surprise, of course, but since the plan is apparently busted… I just wanted you and everyone else to know how serious I am about her.”

If Sokka’s ecstatic, open-mouthed smile was any wider his entire face was going to split in half. It took Suki, Toph, and Iroh mere moments before they too realized the significance of his words, and they too looked joyful. 

The Avatar nodded and sighed, half in relief, half in resignation, and turned towards the others.

“I suppose that’s good enough for me,” he said with another smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I think we should give these two some time alone. What do you say?”

The others quickly agreed, and Katara realized then exactly what her friend had just done.

Iroh must have explained to him at the doorway that she hadn’t told Zuko yet, hence his hesitation at interrupting them. Then he had made sure to make amends with them both to show he harbored no ill will.

Finally, by having the Fire Lord confess his feelings for her so openly in front of everyone left no doubt in anyone’s mind how much Zuko loved her… and gave her courage for what she was about to tell him, too.

Aang discreetly gave her a thumbs up as he walked out and another smile, and she wanted to burst into happy tears all over again – though to be fair, it could be the hormones.

It had been a rather emotional day after all.

~*~*~

At long last, the door closed and it was just the two of them, alone.

“So…” Zuko began nervously as she stood up and held his hands in hers. “What is it that you wanted to tell me? Why won’t the plan work anymore?”

She tilted her head and smiled up at him.

“You mean you haven’t figured it out yet?” she asked softly.

His eyes widened as he too tilted his head.

“I… I think I have an idea, but I don’t want to get my hopes up,” he said cautiously. “So you should probably go ahead and say it, just in case I’m wrong.”

Fair enough. She took a deep breath but he interrupted, albeit apologetically.

“Sorry, before you go on… the only reason I went ahead and mentioned that I was going to propose at some point was because you said the plan wasn’t going to happen anymore,” he admitted as a blush overtook his cheeks. “I would have preferred to keep it a surprise, but I thought I had nothing left to lose.”

He hesitated.

“If… if that’s what you want, Katara. I know it’s asking a lot, but I love you and at some point I would like to marry you… if you’d have me, that is.”

Her eyes flooded with happy tears as she nodded. At that point she decided she may as well just accept that she would probably be weepy for the remainder of the day.

“Of course I would,” she murmured. “Whenever you ask, I promise that I’ll say yes.”

Relief washed over his features and he took her into his arms, kissing her gently as he held her in gratified silence afterwards.

“Thank you, Katara,” he said, his voice suddenly hoarse.

Then he chuckled.

“I’d propose right now actually, but I don’t have an engagement present to give you. I didn’t want to replace your mother’s necklace, of course, but I did want to give you something truly special.”

Zuko pulled away and gave her a lopsided smile, and she could see his eyes were wet.

Well, she thought, might as well break the dam entirely and have him crying happy tears with her then. 

“Actually… you’ve already given me something special,” she breathed. “The best gift of all…”

She took a deep breath to steady her pounding heart.

“You see... I found out early this morning that you didn’t just save my life the day of the comet...”

Her voice trailed off and she rested her hands on her stomach. She saw a million thoughts race through his mind in an instant as it dawned on him, and a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

It almost seemed unnecessary to say her next few words but she did so anyways.

“...you also saved our baby’s.” 

~*~*~

His eyes widened in astonishment at first and his jaw dropped. Then almost immediately he beamed down at her, his smile as radiant as the sun itself and his eyes crinkled up in pure, unbridled exhilaration.

“You’re... you’re pregnant?” he asked softly, and she wanted to cry when she saw the elation spread across his face. “And I’m going to be a...”

He couldn’t finish that sentence as he suddenly became choked up, and she tearfully nodded in understanding, guiding his hand down to rest on her abdomen.

“Surprise,” she said weakly. “We brought back an unexpected souvenir from Ember Island.”

He nodded dumbly and stared at her stomach, but not really _seeing_ her, as if he were lost in thought. She raised her eyebrow and felt her heart pounding in her chest all over again.

“Zuko, are you okay?’ she asked, biting her lower lip. “I know this is a lot to take in but I – ”

She was cut off as he laughed – she realized then she had rarely heard him _laugh_ , especially when he sounded as jubilant as he did just now – and his arms wrapped carefully around her waist as he spun her around in a circle.

Katara let out a squeal of surprise as she suddenly found herself weightless, but it quickly turned into laughter as well. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she rested her chin in the crook of his neck.

He eventually set her down, and she had just enough time to notice his eyes glowing as golden as pure sunshine before his lips crashed into hers.

She giggled in spite of herself, and he smiled against her mouth, his eyes half open in a state of pure euphoria as he rested his forehead against hers.

“I love you, Katara” he said quietly and earnestly. “I love you so much. I’ve never been this happy before... this is the happiest moment of my life.”

He was blinking back tears as he spoke, but then again, so was she.

“Even after the morning you’ve had, with the interrogation and my stupid brother threatening you?” she giggled, kissing his cheek.

“Without a doubt,” he breathed, wrapping his arms around her in a warm, safe embrace and resting his cheek against her hair. “And to think… if I hadn’t saved you from the lightning… I would have lost you both.”

A shiver ran down her spine at the thought, and he pulled her in closer.

“I love you,” he said again quietly. “I love you and our baby so much, and I promise that I’ll always be there to protect both of you, just like I did that day.”

Katara nodded but her voice cracked when she tried to speak. He just kissed her forehead and held her closer, letting out a contented sigh.

~*~*~

She didn’t know how much time had passed before he broke the silence.

“So… when will the baby – _our_ baby – start kicking?” he asked. “It’s too soon for that yet, right?”

Katara laughed and kissed his cheek.

“Afraid so, Father Lord,” she teased, and he rolled his eyes playfully at the new nickname. “Not until around the fifth month, so we’ve got about three to four more months to go. Maybe by then Toph can use her earthbending senses to figure out what we’re having, too.”

He considered this, resting his chin against the palm of his hand and nodded thoughtfully

“Call me crazy, but… I think it’s going to be a girl,” he said, smiling down at her.

She gazed up at him skeptically, but she grinned nonetheless.

“Oh really? What makes you so sure it’s going to be a girl? What if you’re wrong and it turns out to be a boy?”

He shrugged.

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been wrong, and it won’t be the last,” he chuckled. “Besides, I’ve already thought of the perfect name, too.”

Katara realized she could get easily used to this giddy, almost dopey looking (but still sweet) smile on his face. It suited him well, she thought.

“Let me guess… Ember? Since that’s where she was conceived?”

To her surprise, he shook his head.

“Actually no, but I like that name, too,” he said softly, cupping her face with his hands. “I was thinking if it’s a girl… we could name her Kya.”

Katara’s breath caught in her throat, and fresh tears filled her eyes. He saw her reaction and immediately pulled her closer, kissing her face and whispering words of reassurance.

Once she composed herself again she let out a tiny giggle.

“Sorry… apparently I’m going to be overemotional for the next several months,” she said apologetically, pulling away to smile sheepishly up at him. “Good luck, Zuko.”

He shook his head and smirked at that. 

“I don’t need luck,” he said softly. “I’ve never needed luck. As long as I’ve got you, Katara, I don’t need anything else.”

Then he embraced her again, resting his chin in the crook of her neck, and she did the same.

She knew at some point they should discuss what they were going to tell the royal court and figure out how and when they’d actually get married… but that could wait for a bit longer, she decided.

For now, this was all she needed or wanted, wrapped up safe in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much fluff and feels and clichés - yay! But are they having a girl like Zuko thinks they are, or will it be a boy? 🤔 Dun-dun-dunnnn... I did drop a hint somewhere in this fic (not necessarily in this chapter), but you'll have to wait and see what they're having.
> 
> I'm thinking one more chapter after this, maybe a couple more - I haven't decided yet. I'm going to play it by ear.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday - you get not one but TWO chapter updates! The second is practically done, and it should be up sometime on Friday.
> 
> Both this chapter and the next were originally combined into a massive one at first... but then that came out to be 5K+ words, and I decided to take pity on both you, dear reader, and myself.
> 
> So buckle up, here comes all the fluff...

After a long, blissful silence, Zuko’s head snapped upwards as a revelation dawned on him.

“What are we going to tell the others?” he asked, gulping nervously. “I mean, I feel like Uncle will be thrilled, but I don’t want your father to get upset with you…”

To his surprise, she shook her head and let out a sigh of mild exasperation.

“Actually… they kind of already know…”

He just blinked at her wide-eyed in bewilderment.

“ _All_ of them?” he gawked. “Including your father?”

She nodded and explained the mix-up earlier, and how Lady Atsuno unwittingly let the cat out of the bag and revealed their little secret to everyone in their immediate group of friends and family.

So that finally explained everything unusual that had happened today, Zuko thought to himself – _especially_ Aang’s irritability and Sokka’s threat of horrific dismemberment.

(If he was on better terms with his own sister, he thought he might have been just as protective… assuming any man was bold enough to impregnate Azula in the first place, that is.)

“I don’t know why you weren’t out there with everyone else when the midwife accidentally told the others..." Katara began before he interrupted her.

“You can thank King Kuei’s overly inquisitive representative for that,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Earlier today when I got held back I wanted to strangle him for keeping me away, but now I’m considering sending him a gift basket instead.”

She glanced up at him and grinned wickedly.

“So what would you have done had you been there when she told everyone?”

He gently kissed her.

“Honestly? Burst into flames or passed out, probably, if Sokka or your father hadn’t killed me first.”

Katara giggled and hugged him tighter.

“I would have come to your rescue, especially after you saved me from the pirates that one time,” she teased. “Who’s going to mess with a pregnant woman?”

“No one in their right mind, that’s who.” 

“You got that right, Father Lord.”

Zuko had to admit, he didn’t actually mind this new nickname so much. At least it was leagues better than Sifu Hotman.

Besides, he was going to be a _father_.

He suddenly wasn't sure if he wanted to pass out or run through the hallways screaming the news at the top of his lungs. So he settled for holding the woman he loved, the mother of his _child_ , safely wrapped up in his arms instead.

While he had admittedly never given it much thought before now, one thing he was certain of, with every fiber of his being, was that he would love his future children no matter what, unlike his own father.

War may have been the one thing his family was good at, but perhaps he could finally break that cycle, both as a leader and as a parent...

"I’m just so happy I got to tell you like this instead,” Katara was murmuring, nestling her head against his shoulder. “I’m so glad it was just us, for this special moment that’s all our own.”

Zuko lightly kissed her forehead and rested his chin on top of her hair. 

“Me too,” he whispered.

He also felt better about revealing his plans for a future with Katara, then, how he had made it clear to everyone that he genuinely cared about her and how he intended to support her and her happiness, no matter what.

Speaking of…

Now that he finally knew the whole story and that she too wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, he still had one last item he needed to take care of before they rejoined the others.

He swallowed audibly and stepped back, cradling her small, cool hands in his rough, warm ones. 

“That reminds me,” Zuko said hoarsely, still sounding far calmer than he felt at the moment as his heart hammered against his ribs. “There’s something I need to ask you, and I want to do it properly this time…”

~*~*~

Six figures sat spread out on the plush benches located outside in the hallway, anxiously waiting for the heavy wooden door to open.

Suki let out a long sigh as she leaned back against the paneled wall behind her, and she tilted her head in Toph’s direction.

“Now what are they doing?” she asked softly, earning her an annoyed shush from her boyfriend.

Toph shrugged.

“Still just standing around, talking,” the earthbender said. “Their heartbeats are going crazy, but that’s about it.”

Sokka immediately hushed them all again, flapping his hands in their general direction and resumed pressing his ear against the door. 

“Would you all please be quiet?” he hissed. “I’m trying to listen here.”

His companions exchanged looks with each other ranging from bemused to outright annoyed.

“Snoozles, if I can’t hear them, there’s no way you’ll be able to,” Toph explained for the umpteenth time, elbowing him hard on the arm.

He let out a yelp and finally admitted defeat, stepping away from the door and slumping down in the seat beside Suki.

It had only been mere minutes since they all filed out of the meeting room so Katara could finally tell Zuko the big news in private. Yet their patience was already running thin as they waited outside of the soundproof doors.

Suddenly Toph jolted upright, and the others did the same.

“Okay, her heartbeat is going crazy now, and his…” she trailed off. “I think she must have just told him, because his heart skipped a beat or two…”

Hakoda and his son exchanged a look with each other before turning back to Toph.

“Skipped a beat as in happy or freaked out or…?” Sokka began before she cut him off.

“Pretty sure happy – ohh,” Toph paused as an uncharacteristically soft smile spread across her face. “He just picked her up and spun her around a few times in a circle – aaand now they’re making out.”

At that, she lifted her feet off the floor entirely for the next couple of minutes – she had already sensed more from them than she ever cared to for one lifetime. She was still figuring out how she’d make them pay for subjecting her to their baby’s conception, after all.

“Yep, I’d say he’s taking the news incredibly well,” she added somewhat unnecessarily. “He’s definitely over the moon right now. I’ve never sensed his heart beating this excitedly before.”

The others let out a sigh of relief and sank back down in their seats.

None of them had actually expected Zuko to be upset, per se, upon learning that he was going to be a father with Katara, but it was still comforting nonetheless to hear about his overjoyed reaction.

They sat in silent anticipation for several more minutes before Toph perked up again.

“Wait, what’s he doing… ohhh," she murmured with a grin. " _Nice going_ , Sifu Hotman.”

“What?!” several voices cried out at once, which echoed in the hallway.

Toph shifted her foot on the ground to be sure, then lifted her head towards the others, beaming.

“He just knelt down and took both of her hands in his – ” was all she managed to say.

Then she was forced to clamp her own hands over her ears to shield them from Sokka’s screech of joy.

“MY BEST FRIEND AND MY SIS– ” he started to exclaim before Suki clapped her hand over his mouth. 

Annoyed, Toph stomped over and lightly punched him in the gut, effectively shutting him up.

“Snoozles!” she snapped. “Do you _want_ me to go deaf? Because that’s how you make me go blind _and_ deaf. Plus, I’m pretty sure they and the whole world heard you just now.”

Sokka didn’t look like he cared either way. Instead, he just grabbed Suki and hugged her tightly, rocking back and forth as he blinked back happy tears.

“This has turned into the best day," he whispered happily. "My _best friend_ and my _sister_..."

“You’ll definitely be the coolest uncle ever,” Suki said softly, giving her boyfriend a happy squeeze.

Hakoda and Iroh gave each other a massive bear hug as well and started taking excitedly amongst themselves in low voices.

Even though she couldn’t see, Toph was willing to bet everyone else in their group was grinning just as widely as she was – everyone that is, except for one.

~*~*~

Aang hadn’t said a word since they sat down in the hallway, although she sensed his heartbeat also pounding erratically, just like the two inside the next room… albeit for a much different reason.

As the others started chattering excitedly amongst themselves, the Avatar allowed himself a small, hollow smile. He then took a deep breath to steady himself and settle his nerves.

Although it ached now, he knew his shattered heart would heal one day– or at least, he sincerely hoped it would.

If nothing else, he owed it to the girl he loved to step aside and allow her to find happiness, even if it wasn’t with him.

Ultimately, he had finally unlocked his final chakra in the days leading up to the comet with some aid from the Lion Turtle. As much as it crushed his heart and very soul to do so, he had finally vowed to let go of his attachment to her… and now, it seemed he was being tested.

He had already sacrificed so much and lost so many people that he cared about already. Yet he would give up everything else if it meant he could somehow hold on to his love for Katara… but fate had cruelly snatched her away, too.

No, he realized as he immediately amended that thought. She had never been his to begin with, and neither had her heart… although she still held his within the palms of her hands and would continue to do so as long as he let her.

He genuinely was happy for Katara and Zuko both, especially with everything that had transpired today regarding their pregnancy and engagement, he really and truly was… but at the moment, he needed to be alone to process everything.

Aang stood up and quietly bid the others farewell, bowing to Hakoda and Iroh politely before he started to walk away.

“You okay?” Sokka called after him in concern.

He paused, and without looking back, he lowered his head.

“At the moment? Not exactly,” Aang said softly. “But I _will_ be. Give them both a hug for me and tell them I said congratulations. There’s… there’s something I need to take care of. I’ll be back sometime tonight.”

The others exchanged looks of concern as he mutely disappeared around the corner. After a few seconds of silence, Toph stood up as well.

“Ya know, I just remembered something I need to take care of, too,” she announced as she set off in the same direction. “Something about the new Air Temple Island that Aang and I are supposed to build together. Give Sifu Hotman and Sugar Queen a hug for me, too… I’ll catch up with them later.”

Suki exchanged a glance with Sokka, who nodded.

“Thanks, Toph,” she said quietly. “I know he’ll appreciate the company.”

The earthbender just nodded and gave them a thumbs up without turning around, and then she too vanished from their sight.

~*~*~

As Katara expected, the others were just as ecstatic to hear about their engagement once they finally emerged, and at more than one point she’d had to tell Sokka to _stop crushing her already_ so tightly in his big bear hugs, lest he wanted to squeeze his niece or nephew out of existence.

Her brother had just laughed and given them all to Zuko instead, sappily declaring him as the brother he never had but always wanted, despite threatening to castrate him less than an hour before, Katara noted with a raised eyebrow. Thankfully, the two soon-to-be brothers seemed to put that all behind them.

“My best friend and my sister!” he bellowed out at one point, hugging them both as they exchanged a tired grin with each other.

Suki was no less enthusiastic in her exuberance, although far more restrained than Sokka – at least she didn’t smother her and cut off her air supply. She excitedly offered her services, whether it was helping with wedding planning, fetching her favorite foods to satisfy her pregnancy cravings, or providing extra security to specifically monitor Katara and the baby, both before and after the crown prince or princess was born.

Hakoda and Iroh had been absolutely delighted, of course, and she knew both would make the perfect pair of grandfathers who would spoil their baby absolutely rotten. She and Zuko found themselves the recipients of warm group hugs from both men as well, and she had to blink back tears when she saw her father warmly hug her fiancé at one point and welcome him to the family.

The only ones missing were Aang and Toph, who had been called away to discuss construction on the new Air Temple Island. However, the others said they would no doubt offer their congratulations as well.

Upon hearing this, she and Zuko exchanged a light frown with each other – something told them their friends’ absence wasn’t strictly because of responsibilities.

However, they hadn’t had much time to dwell on that. They still had to figure out how they were going to present this to the royal court (not to mention the world) while trying to ruffle as few feathers as possible, after all.

She, Zuko, her father, and Iroh reconvened in the private meeting room to hammer out the finer details, sending her brother and Suki on their merry way, sworn to absolute secrecy in the meantime.

~*~*~

It was her father’s idea that, although the two of them technically had just gotten engaged, they present a story to his ministers about how the pair had held their own informal wedding in the days leading up to the comet.

Iroh of course immediately jumped on board with that plan.

“What better story is there than that of young love?” he’d asked with a dreamy sigh, the gears in his head visibly spinning. “We can tell the court that you two wanted a private ceremony before the comet, just in case one or neither of you survived.”

That seemed plausible enough, she supposed...

“Then we can incorporate some of your original plan a bit,” Iroh continued. “We’ll tell them that you two planned to have a proper courtship after the war ended for the sake of decorum, but then this little one…”

…he gestured lovingly to Katara’s stomach, and she had a feeling a _lot_ of people would be doing that in the near future, at least for the next several months…

“… decided to speed up the process! It won’t win everyone over, but a story of love, especially the new prince or princess born from it to unite both nations in harmony, might help warm their hearts.”

That indeed seemed like the best plan possible, at least to Katara’s drowsy mind. She started to say so but yawned loudly mid-sentence.

Immediately Zuko launched into overprotective new father mode, asking her if she needed to go lie down for a while, could he get her anything, and that whatever she wanted was no trouble at all, he would make sure it was done.

Amused, she’d taken his hand in hers and urged him to settle down from where he’d been fussing around her... not unlike a mother hen, she thought as she bit back a laugh.

“I can still handle myself, but I appreciate it,” she assured him with a kiss on the cheek once he finally sat down beside her. “You’re too sweet though.”

“I mean it, Katara,” he said softly, lightly rubbing her palms with his thumbs. “Anything you want, I’ll make it happen. All you have to do is ask.”

She smiled sleepily at him, giving his hands a gentle squeeze.

“Actually, a nap sounds heavenly right now,” she admitted. “I woke up early this morning and everything from today has taken a lot out of me.”

“You've got it,” he said automatically, helping her stand up.

He then turned to his uncle and Hakoda.

“Can we continue this conversation later, once she’s rested?”

The two older men shared a bemused look between themselves.

“Of course, nephew,” Iroh said soothingly. “We’ll need to set up another meeting with Lady Atsuno, so she can talk with both of you about what to expect. Then later this week, we can make the formal announcement.”

~*~*~

The three escorted her back to her bedroom, and the chief exchanged another smile with the old general when they noticed the Fire Lord’s glazed over expression of joyfulness as he nodded along whenever Katara spoke, his arm resting protectively around her lower back.

They paused when they reached her room, and he shyly bid her farewell for now with a chaste kiss, all too aware that her father was watching their every move with no small amount of amusement.

“I’ve got a few more things to take care of this afternoon, then I’ll come by and check on you,” Zuko said softly, taking her hands in his again. “Get some rest and… I love you.”

She smiled and wrapped him up in a delicate embrace, which he instantly returned.

“Love you too,” she murmured, kissing his scarred cheek. “See you soon, Father Lord.”

Once the door closed behind her, Zuko turned around and sheepishly smiled at his uncle and future father-in-law, raking his hand through his hair.

To his slight consternation, both just gave him an infuriatingly smug, all-knowing smirk.

“I, um…” he started before he trailed off, feeling his face turn as crimson as his clothes.

They simply nodded in understanding and each gave him a celebratory clap on the back.

“You think it’s bad now?” Hakoda asked, chuckling. “Just wait, son. You’re going to get a lot worse.”

“Especially once you hold your baby in your arms for the first time,” Iroh added, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm so excited for you both, nephew."

Zuko nodded and interlaced his fingers behind his neck, looking down at the floor as he tried (and failed) to control the unbridled joy spreading throughout his body and threatened to split his face in half.

 _Their_ baby. His and Katara’s, and they were going to be _married_ one day soon.

He was going to be a _father_.

Suddenly, despite all of the work he had ahead of him - setting his nation back on the right track and restoring peace with the other nations, just to name a few things...

...all seemed right with the world, at last. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Slaps roof of fanfic just like that car salesman meme* This bad boy can fit SO MUCH SEROTONIN in it... 
> 
> We're getting near the end, you guys! There's going to be an epilogue after this chapter, then this fluff-tastic, entirely self-indulgent fic is done. 
> 
> Also, we *finally* learn what our favorite couple will be having. About time, right?
> 
> Additionally, I updated the tags - there's some mild smut at the beginning of this chapter but nothing too graphic. 
> 
> Lastly, I’m way behind replying to comments but I appreciate all of them. Seriously, I get so giddy seeing the notifications pop up 😊
> 
> See y'all in the notes and comments!

As the sun started to sink towards the horizon, Katara woke up in her dimly lit room, feeling much more rested after her warm bath earlier and subsequent nap.

She yawned and stretched her limbs, and as her eyes fluttered open, she was pleased to see that she wasn’t alone. 

Zuko sat on the edge of the bed, smiling down at her as he trailed his fingers through her hair.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

“Hi,” she replied softly, grinning up at him. “How was the rest of your day?”

“Absolutely horrible without you,” he deadpanned. “But it’s all over now, at least until tomorrow. So until then, I’m all yours.”

“Perfect.”

Katara held up a corner of the silky bedsheets, and he eagerly slid in underneath them, curling up behind her and resting his hand protectively over her stomach.

“How are you feeling?” he murmured beside her ear. “Are you still tired, or sick, or…”

Instead of answering, she slowly ground her hips back against him and smirked at the low growl that rumbled from his throat.

She turned her head and winked at him.

“I think the real question is, how are _you_ feeling?” she asked, biting her lower lip as his hand slid from her stomach and settled on her hip, pulling her closer for much-needed friction.

He gritted his teeth and exhaled twin streams of smoke.

“Always the tease,” he rasped, letting out a groan as she pushed back even harder. “But, um, is this a good idea with your… condition?”

Not to mention, this was their first time since the beach house, their second overall, and he intended to put on just as spectacular a performance for her as he did that night.

Katara raised her eyebrow in amusement.

“What, are you worried that you might get me pregnant?”

He stopped rocking against her altogether at that, his mouth falling open. After a beat, both burst into soft laughter at the utter ridiculousness of this whole situation.

Once they calmed down, she shifted her body around until she was curled up underneath him and stroked his face lovingly.

“As long as we’re not too rough, it should be fine,” she reassured him. “Your heart has gotten stronger since the lightning, but if you think we should wait a little while longer to be on the safe side – ” 

He cut her off with a gentle kiss.

“I just found out we’re going to have a baby _and_ I get to marry you someday,” he said, grinning wildly. “If you asked me to, sweetheart, I could take on the whole world for both of you and _win_.”

Then his lips met hers again, and he bit back a groan as his hands skimmed down her body and pushed her nightgown up above her hips, while she helped him out of his tunic.

His hand started to snake down her stomach, but she shook her head vehemently.

“I need you _now_ ,” she breathed. “ _Please_ , Zuko.”

His mouth suddenly went very dry, and he blinked a few times as his mind immediately shut down upon hearing that.

But he quickly regained his composure, and when he finally sank into her, he let out a deep breath, clinging to her tighter than he meant to.

She brushed the hair out of his eyes and smiled up at him, noting he wore the exact same tender expression on his face as he did that first night together at the beach house.

This time, though, he whispered the words he’d said that night with only his eyes over and over as he rocked her and held her safely in his arms.

Eventually they rolled over, and she paused after she straddled him, her fingers tracing the star-shaped scar on his chest as their eyes met.

Neither said anything for a long time, breathing heavily in the glow of the afternoon sun.

“I love you,” she whispered finally, and he repeated the words back softly.

Then she started to move, and his hands wrapped around her back, pulling her down until she was flush against him.

After, she collapsed and sprawled out on his chest, her arms still wrapped around his neck, panting beside his ear.

“Love you,” he whispered again as he struggled to catch his own breath, and his heart swelled all over again as she echoed them back.

~*~*~

A short time later, he snuggled up against her and rested his head on her chest, letting out a contented sigh as she ran her fingers through his messy hair.

To her amusement, he leaned down and kissed her stomach and rested his palm flat against it again as he was settled in beside her once more.

They laid together in silence for several minutes before she spoke up.

“You know… as much as we love each other, it’s not going to be easy, Zuko. We’re going to have fights, and we’re going to lock horns from time to time.”

“That will only happen whenever you’re wrong.”

He let out a yelp as she pinched him, then he quickly composed himself and kissed her cheek.

“Aren’t you supposed to say that I’m always right?” she asked, pretending to look grumpy.

He shook his head with a tender smile.

“If you want someone who only worships the ground you walk on, sorry, I’m not that guy. But if you want someone who loves you for exactly who you are, who thinks you’re absolutely perfect even on your worst days, someone who thinks you should never change a thing about yourself, well then…”

Zuko trailed off, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

She smiled and returned it before she continued.

“You know, there will probably be days we won’t be able to stand being in the same room with each other...”

But he immediately shook his head. 

“I could never get tired of you,” he insisted. “Besides, I’ve already had to work my way into your good graces once before. I’m sure if worst comes to worst, I can figure it out again.”

She lightly traced her nails up and down his bare shoulders as she contemplated that.

“You promise you’ll still love me, even when I’m cranky and yelling?” she asked. “Pregnancy hormones are going to do weird things to my emotions.”

“Of course,” he whispered against her skin. “You’ll always be wonderful and beautiful to me, no matter what.”

Katara was tempted to ask him for that in writing but decided against it. That would have involved climbing out of bed, and she was entirely too comfortable for that just now.

“What about when I’m huge and waddling around like a turtleduck?” she asked instead.

“Well, you’ll be the prettiest mother turtleduck ever, carrying around our precious little duckling,” he replied immediately. 

She couldn’t help herself – she cracked up, covering her mouth with her palm, which he acknowledged with a sleepy smirk and half-closed eyes.

“Zuko, we are _not_ calling our future child a turtleduckling,” she chided playfully, secretly wondering if he was actually being serious.

“Why not? We’ll be the proud turtleduck parents of an adorable baby duckling,” he said, hugging her closer as he started to doze off. “You’ll be the most beautiful mother and our baby will be the cutest child in the entire world.” 

“I think all of the good news has gone to your head, and you’ve totally lost it,” she giggled as she too closed her eyes and settled in for another nap. “But you’re right. Our baby is going to win over everyone who lays eyes on them with how cute he or she is.”

Katara received no reply, as the Fire Lord had fallen asleep curled up around her. She smiled and kissed the top of his head, and she soon followed.

~*~*~

As expected, the news of their pregnancy and engagement caused a slight uproar amongst the Fire Nation royal court and the delegates from the Earth Kingdom and Northern Water Tribe.

While many were happy for them, several still opposed the idea of a marriage between fire and water, much less a child born from such a union.

However, there was little they could actually do about it, so they had little choice but to offer their congratulations through forced smiles.

Once this was all settled, Zuko knew he owed a debt to his future father-in-law and uncle for helping him settle the commotion in the weeks afterward. When he said as much to Hakoda, the chief simply waved his hand.

“You rescued me from prison and you saved my daughter’s life, as well as my grandchild’s,” he reminded him. “Consider us even, as long as you continue to love and protect Katara with your life.”

That, at least, was something Zuko was certain he could do.

~*~*~

The Fire Sages had insisted on holding a small wedding to make their union official, as well as ensure the baby was a legal heir to the throne.

Once their child was born, the sages declared, they would simply combine a proper wedding ceremony along with the royal christening.

And so, one morning a few days after they first made the announcement, a Fire Lord and a master waterbender found themselves dressed in robes of crimson lined with gold and navy sprinkled with silver stars, respectively, standing before a small crowd inside of the royal temple. 

They stood with their hands clasped together, bathed in the golden beams of the early sunlight that filtered down through the windows, exchanging vows in hushed tones while their closest friends and family watched proudly from up front.

It was over before they knew it, and Zuko found himself staring down at her in disbelief for a moment after they were pronounced husband and wife.

As polite applause broke out and filled the entire room from the floor tiles up to the rafters in the ceiling, all he heard was the sound of their combined breathing.

Katara just quirked her eyebrow and smiled up at him affectionately. 

“Well, dear husband?” she asked softly, stifling a giggle as he continued gaping at her. “Are you going to kiss me or – ”

He finally regained his senses and cut her off, his mouth crashing into hers as he wrapped her up in his arms and lifted his wife clean off her feet.

~*~*~

Over the next few months, Katara pored over every text she could find chronicling births in the Fire Nation, especially for early signs that the baby would be born a firebender.

While she knew the basics of childbirth, she wanted to learn everything she could about pregnancy in general, and she eagerly absorbed every scrap of information she could get her hands on. 

She had even received scrolls from Yugoda and other midwives in the Northern Water Tribe as well.

So far, she had learned that mothers carrying firebenders tended to rise with the sun and their body temperatures were faintly warmer than usual during pregnancy.

It seemed to be the polar opposite for mothers of waterbenders – they rose with the moon, and their bodies were slightly cooler than normal.

Both cultures also adhered to the belief that girls were carried higher in the stomach, and boys were typically carried lower.

It was all good information, but it ultimately did Katara absolutely no use either way.

She slept and woke at random intervals so she was constantly tired no matter the time of day, even after she eventually got over her rough first trimester of morning sickness.

Her body was neither too hot nor too cold, and the swell of her stomach seemed to be situated right in the middle, neither high nor low.

All she knew was that she was always groggy, hungry, and far more emotional than normal, and she indeed had started to waddle around not unlike a turtleduck.

Despite her discomfort, though, Zuko had made good on his word to support her no matter what.

He never let a day go by without telling her how much he loved her and how beautiful she was, even when she ate something that disagreed with her and made her sick to her stomach.

He simply turned his head and helped hold her hair back as she threw up, grimacing in spite of himself.

“Sorry,” she choked out after one such instance, but he quickly shook his head.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her, his eyes clenched shut. “I’m fine. I’m just worried about you.” 

Afterwards, he ensured she received as much ginger tea as she wanted to soothe her nausea while he held her close and promised her that everything was going to be fine.

~*~*~

Fortunately, she also had an ally in Suki, who offered to stay behind to keep her company.

Sokka was also officially there as a representative on behalf of the Southern Water Tribe once their father was forced to return home with the rest of the tribe’s warriors.

As they watched the purple sails fading away into the distance, Zuko’s eyes kept flickering over to watch Katara as she managed a smile with a stiff upper lip. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and planted a gentle kiss on top of her head.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, rubbing her upper back. “If there’s anything I can do to make this easier, anything at all…”

She just leaned against him, and he enveloped her in a warm embrace when he heard her suppress a sniffle. 

“I’m know I’m being silly,” she said later when they were closed off in the privacy of their bedroom. “I’m going to see my father again, especially before the baby comes…”

“Katara, you don’t have to apologize,” he said, hugging her tighter and resting his chin in the crook of her neck.

“I know,” she mumbled, burying her face against his chest. “I just… I miss Dad so much already, and I wish Mom were here to help guide me through this. I… I miss _home_.” 

As he held her, an idea suddenly came to him. It wasn’t anything great or grand, but he hoped it would lift her spirits somewhat.

The next morning, he pulled Sokka aside for a quick word in private, and together, the two brothers-in-law came up with a plan.

~*~*~

A few days later, Katara stood at their bedroom door with her hands on her hips, scowling at the man standing guard.

“What do you mean, I can’t go in?” she asked again, barely keeping her temper in check.

The guard gave her a smile meant to be disarming, but unfortunately she was too irritated for it to be effective.

“My apologies, Lady Katara,” he said. “I’m under orders from Fire Lord Zuko himself. Only certain people are allowed inside today, at least until he tells me otherwise.”

“But this is our _bedroom_ ,” she insisted. “I just want to go lie down…”

He swallowed and shook his head once more.

The guard opened his mouth again but was interrupted.

“For Agni’s sake, Katara, please quit terrorizing the poor man,” the Fire Lord said as he walked up and slid his arm around her lower back. “He’s only doing what I told him to.”

She huffed and frowned up at him.

“What’s going on?” she demanded. “Why can’t I go inside?”

“It’s a surprise,” he said evasively. “You’ll see later tonight.”

“Not good enough, Zuko. I’m tired and cranky and pregnant, and there better be a good reason why I can’t go take a nap in peace.”

He sighed and dismissed the guard before taking her hands in his.

“I know how difficult this whole… transition has been,” he said, rubbing her palms with his thumbs. “I wanted to make you feel more at home, so I brainstormed with Sokka, and well…”

Zuko opened the door and guided her inside, and he felt a surge of pride when she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

While the room was still undoubtedly Fire Nation, it was now filled with more blues, and a few artifacts from the Southern Water Tribe hung on the walls. 

But what drew her eye was a familiar cobalt-colored tent, set up in the middle of the floor.

She whirled around and stared at him.

“Zuko, what’s…?” she started to say before she choked up, unable to finish that sentence.

Immediately he wrapped her up in a warm hug.

“Since you can’t go home just yet… I wanted to bring home to you,” he explained softly. “Or rather, I wanted this to feel more like _your_ home, too.”

“But… how did you…”

“Your brother and I actually make a good team when we’re on the same side,” he said simply. “I told him he still owed me after that freak-out the morning we found out we were having a baby, so he happily offered to help. He’s the one who showed me how to set up your old tent and helped me find the décor.”

He paused, glancing down at her nervously.

“Is this okay? I wanted to get your input, but I also wanted it to be a surprise.”

“It’s perfect,” she whispered, kissing him. “Thank you so much.”

Encouraged, he led her to the tent and she stared at him incredulously when she saw what was inside.

“How in the name of Tui and La did you find these?” she asked.

He looked down at the floor and smiled.

“That’s a secret,” he said with an air of mysteriousness, extending his hand inside the tent. “Shall we?” 

Katara shook her head in amazement and ducked her head as she stepped inside, and he followed after her.

They stretched out on the thick polar bear dog pelts that rested on top of thick cushions, and she snuggled up cozily at her husband’s side, staring up at the fabric and poles above them in silence.

“It’s not much, but I thought you should have a little slice of home to escape to whenever everything gets to be too much,” he said eventually, kissing the top of her head. “Whether you need a break from the politics or everyone else… even me, if I get to be too annoying.”

She chuckled and hugged him tighter.

“This is…” she began before trailing off. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

Zuko nodded, hugging her closer.

“I’d like to hear you tell a story about your mom, maybe your favorite memory of her,” he murmured. “That is, if you want to.”

Katara turned her head and kissed his cheek.

“I’d like that,” she whispered.

Together, they curled up on the warm pelts as she regaled him with stories of Kya and all of her happiest memories with her family growing up in the South Pole, before the day of black snowfall.

~*~*~

They also saw the Avatar and Toph on occasion whenever they visited from traveling around the world, and to their relief Aang always seemed genuinely happy for them.

For some reason, though, Toph refused to tell the royal couple what they were having, no matter how much they insisted and even outright begged.

“Come on, Toph,” Katara begged her friend yet again one day as the three of them watched Aang demonstrate his airbending abilities for a crowd of awed spectators on the palace courtyard. “Just tell us. Boy or girl? Prince or princess?”

The earthbender simply shook her head.

“Neither, both, one or the other,” she said cryptically.

At that, a very frustrated Fire Lord threw his hands in the air and turned away, letting out a barely audible string of profanities as Toph just smirked.

“What if I turn out to be wrong?” Toph asked with a wicked grin that they didn’t entirely trust. “I wouldn’t be able to call myself the world’s greatest earthbender then, would I?”

“Seriously?” the Fire Lady sputtered. “If this is about getting revenge on you sensing everything that happened night, then – ”

But Toph waved her hands noncommittally.

“Oh no, sweetness, that’s not it. Besides, I’ve got the rest of our lives to get back at you two. But I’ll make you this promise. I’ll tell you once you’ve felt the first kick. Deal?”

Both the Fire Lord and his wife rolled their eyes at that stipulation but ultimately agreed, albeit grumpily.

“Excellent,” Toph declared, punching Zuko playfully on each of his arms, causing him to hiss. “What? I can’t go around hitting pregnant women.”

“So instead you hit the Fire Lord?” he asked, glaring down at her even though she couldn’t see. ‘That’s not much better.”

Toph just punched his arm again playfully, which still caused him to yelp.

“I’m serious!” he growled as she maintained a demure expression. “If you keep this up – ”

‘What, are you gonna start begging me like you did with Sugar Queen that night?” she snorted. “ _Please Katara, please_ , does that sound familiar?”

His face turned several shades of scarlet as Katara covered her face, mortified.

The earthbender put her hands on her hips and looked entirely too pleased with herself.

“Yeah, I thought so. Trust me on this, guys. Once you feel the first kick, then I’ll tell you what you’re having.” 

~*~*~

The sixth month of pregnancy rolled around, and Fire Lady Katara found herself to be utterly miserable.

One evening after a particularly tiring day, she huffed as she all but waddled across their bedroom, feeling somewhat comforted by her husband’s warm hand resting on her back as they walked.

He guided her to settle down on the plush couches, and she let out a deep sigh as she leaned back, resting her hand on her swollen stomach.

So far, their baby hadn’t kicked once, no matter how many times they rubbed her belly or (to her greatest amusement) Zuko talked to it.

Occasionally they even tried carefully warming and cooling one of their hands and placed each on either side of her stomach – perhaps if the baby was a firebender or waterbender, he or she would be drawn to heat or cold, respectively, they reasoned.

Both of them were growing anxious, despite Lady Atsuno’s reassurances that they had absolutely nothing to worry about.

While they still attempted it each time they could, they eventually stopped expecting that first kick each time they tried, reasoning their baby would make their presence known whenever he or she was good and ready.

Tonight, her husband knelt on the floor in front of her, folding his arms and resting them on her knees as he smiled patiently up at her.

“It’ll happen one day,” he said soothingly. “Remember, some babies are late bloomers. I didn’t even learn that I was a firebender until I was almost seven. Our kid might be the same way.”

Katara sighed again and cupped his cheek in her hand.

“I know… I’m just worried, that’s all,” she said. “What if there’s something wrong, and that’s why the baby isn’t kicking?”

He gently kissed her stomach again.

“I’d like to think that our midwife, not to mention Toph, would have brought it up before now if that was the case,” he reasoned. “Anyways, I can’t wait to meet our precious little souvenir we brought back from Ember Island…”

Zuko rested his palm flat against her belly, warming his hand slightly and murmuring words of nonsense that his wife didn’t actually catch, although Katara was sure she heard him say something about “his precious baby turtleduck” or something equally as endearing (and ridiculous.)

Suddenly, it happened at long last.

There was a faint kick right underneath his palm.

~*~*~

“Our baby just kicked!” he yelped.

Katara could only stare down at her husband as he continued babbling away, oblivious to her shocked expression above him.

“There it is again, right there!” he exclaimed, carefully rubbing the side of her stomach. “Move your hand over here, I think the baby is on this…”

He trailed off when his eyes finally met hers, and they were wide open in astonishment.

“…Katara?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion. “Are you okay there, sweetheart?” 

She wordlessly reached out for his other hand and settled it against the other side of her rounded tummy.

A moment later, he felt a kick under his right palm, just like before.

Then, almost as if in response, there was an identical thump under his left hand immediately after.

His jaw dropped as he too gazed up at her in shock.

“Wait…” he began feebly, “…does that mean…”

The world seemed to spin faster than normal, which was incredibly odd, he thought. Katara said nothing at first as she simply nodded in understanding.

She let out a breathy chuckle and cupped his scarred cheek in the palm of her hand, and her other let his topknot down, delicately trailing her fingers through his hair and brushing it loose.

“I… oh, Zuko, I think it does…”

 _Oh_ , he thought to himself as his mind went completely blank for a moment. No wonder Toph hadn’t told them yet what they were having all those times before, no matter how much they had wheedled her.

She hadn’t wanted to give away the big surprise.

“I guess make that _souvenirs_ we brought back from Ember Island…” he mumbled before he sat down on the floor with a loud thud, none too gracefully either.

He leaned back on the palms of his hands to steady himself, as his wife gazed down at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Zuko?” he heard her call out from somewhere above him as his vision went dark for a second.

She sounded worried, bless her...

“Zuko, are you still with me? I’ll send for the doctor if you need me to. Maybe you should go lie down…”

He was thankful that the floor wasn’t so far away that he’d get a concussion if he passed out from down here, which he was dangerously close to doing at the moment.

“No, no, I’m fine,” he insisted shakily.

Still, he made no move to stand again, at least not anytime soon.

“You going to be okay there, Father Lord?” she asked, reaching out to rub his shoulder reassuringly. “You’re not panicking, are you?”

He shook his head, although he most certainly _was_ , but he tried to conceal it for her sake.

 _Of course_ he was panicking. _Join me, why don’t you?_ he thought sardonically to himself. He was suddenly tempted to burst into laughter, for some strange reason. 

Maybe it was because of the lightheadedness that swept over him like a tidal wave just then.

Katara let out a sigh and gave her husband’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Believe me, I wasn’t expecting this either, but… we’ll be fine, Zuko. I’m just as shocked, but that means we get an extra baby to love, right?”

Zuko nodded, not actually seeing anything in front of him as the corners of his mouth slowly upturned into a grin.

“Ducklings….” he whispered, and he was all too aware that his beloved wife probably thought he had completely lost his mind. “We’re having a herd of ducklings…”

He sensed Katara’s smirk from up above more than saw it.

“Actually… the word you’re looking for is twins, Zuko.”

Oh, right.

 _Twins_ , he thought weakly as he laid himself down on the floor, not caring if his robes were getting wrinkled.

Instead, he just flung his arms out on either side, letting out a low, long laugh of delirium as Katara giggled, carefully nudging his side with her foot.

“You planning on spending the night down there?” she teased.

He shook his head sluggishly.

“No, I’ll be fine, just give me a minute,” he mumbled again, turning his head to smile up at her apologetically. “Sorry, I wasn’t even thinking. Are… are _you_ okay?”

Katara grinned as she poked his side with her foot again.

“I’m taking the news a whole lot better than you are, tough guy,” she laughed. “All it takes is learning that we’re having twins and you’re down for the count.”

He wanted to protest, but he didn’t have much of an argument while currently sprawled out on the floor, his hair and robes in a disarray, gawking up at the paneled ceiling.

Instead, he closed his eyes and let the biggest, dopiest smile wash over his features and split his face clean in half.

“Give me a moment,” he mumbled.

 _Twins_ , he thought once more, this time feeling slightly calmer, although his heart fluttered listening to Katara giggle at his ridiculousness again.

 _We’re having **twins**._

~*~*~

When Toph and Aang visited them soon after, the world's greatest earthbender kept her word and finally informed the royal couple what they were having.

She was entirely too smug as she rubbed it in how she'd made the right call waiting to tell them, and while they rolled their eyes, they found they couldn't be too upset. 

The six friends gathered for a group hug immediately afterwards, although they made sure not to squeeze the heavily pregnant Fire Lady too much, lest they incur her wrath.

"You two are never getting any sleep ever again," Suki teased.

"Speak for yourself," Zuko retorted. "Since he got us into this mess in the first place, we're going to be dropping them off at their Uncle Sokka's all the time."

Sokka groaned as they all laughed.

"And what have we learned?" Katara asked, smirking at her brother.

He mumbled something unintelligible, and Toph elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to yelp.

"I said, never touch someone else's drink or eat old fire flakes," he grumbled, earning a clap on the back from his brother-in-law and a condescending pat on the head from his sister. "But hey, if I hadn't done that, you two wouldn't have gotten together, right?"

Zuko and Katara exchanged a look before they turned back to him.

"Yeah, we would have."

"We already did before I found out I was pregnant."

Sokka shrugged.

"Whatever. You can thank me later. By the way, did I mention I'm carving a pair of miniature boomerangs for my niece and nephew?"

The Fire Lord's face turned pale for a moment and he rubbed the back of his head, where he could still feel the knot from the last time he'd been on the receiving end of a hit from his friend's weapon of choice.

"Um, that's great..." he said weakly. "Thanks, buddy..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Surpriiiise!
> 
> Technically I never said they were just having one baby did I? Okay, I *might* have implied it, but still.
> 
> The clues? Sokka’s line at the end of Chapter 4 is a reference to the Friends finale where Chandler and Monica find out the woman they're adopting from is actually pregnant with twins (a boy and a girl). Besides, as the Father Lord himself pointed out, it's right there in the title - Souvenirs, as in plural. 
> 
> When I was figuring out the pregnancy twist while writing "Moonlight In Her Hands" I actually was planning on them having just one baby. Then I couldn't decide what I wanted, boy or girl, so I cheated and gave them one of each and hid the biggest clue of all right there in the title. 
> 
> Also, shoutout to thefandomcalls for indirectly giving me the idea of Uncle Sokka carving mini boomerangs for his niece and nephew. I saw that comment and thought that was too dang cute.
> 
> This has mostly been a self-indulgent fluffy fic written for kicks and giggles, and thank you all for your sweet and funny comments along the way. It's truly been a blast and I hope you all have had as much fun as I have ❤️


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be the last chapter / epilogue, but then I got carried away. Plus there’s going to be a time skip, and it felt weird putting it in the middle of the epilogue. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy! 💜

Sokka sat slumped over in the hallway, cradling his head in his hands as he fought to keep his eyes open in the dim light of the candles and torches.

It was either late night or early morning, he couldn’t exactly tell, nor did it seem to matter at the moment. He was utterly exhausted, but he knew sleep would not come easily to them all for some time just yet.

Suki was dozing off and on beside him, resting her head on his shoulder as she yawned.

Nearby, Aang absentmindedly spun a top around in his palms using airbending. Toph was stretched out on the floor, propping her feet up on the wall (much to the servants’ chagrin, not that they could do much to stop her).

Both grandfather and honorary grandfather yawned over their ongoing game of pai sho, seated around a small side table.

Hakoda had proved to be a formidable player upon learning the intricacies of the game after the first few rounds, and he currently had his opponent at a rare disadvantage.

Iroh frowned and rested his chin atop his fist, glancing up at an entirely too-smug chieftain.

“Well?” Hakoda asked, folding his arms proudly. “What’s your move?”

The old general smirked suddenly when he saw an opening. He lifted his hand to move the tile as the Avatar let out a long sigh of exasperation.

“Um… so how long does this whole process normally take?” he grumbled, bending the air around the spinning top to tuck it back into his pocket. “Because it’s taking for- _ever_.”

He received a not-so-friendly punch to the arm from his earthbending teacher in response to his question.

“Ow!” he hissed, rubbing the spot she’d hit. “What was that for?”

Toph snorted.

“Twinkletoes, quit whining. _You’re_ not the one giving birth. As long as you think it’s taking, trust me, it’s probably feeling like a lot longer for Sugar Queen.”

Both of the older men nodded sagely.

“Kya was in labor between ten to twelve hours when she had both Sokka and Katara,” the chief explained. “It’s only been nine hours, so it could be any minute now, or we might have a few more hours to go.”

Upon hearing that, Sokka and Aang both let out loud defeated groans as Iroh chuckled.

“I was away during a campaign when my nephew was born, but I was told that he arrived in only a few hours,” he recalled. “Ursa used to say that he was far too impatient to join the world.”

“It’s too bad his children can’t follow in his footsteps and hurry it up,” Sokka complained, tilting his head backwards and resting it against the wall with a light thud. “Maybe Zuko can stand by her stomach and coach them to come on faster.”

Hakoda shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning up in amusement.

“It doesn’t quite work like that, son.”

Sokka rubbed his eyes with one hand and wrapped his arm around his fiancée, who had fallen asleep somehow. Whenever he and Suki had kids, he sincerely hoped they wouldn’t take as long to be born as their cousins were.

He supposed Toph was right, though. As impatient and anxious as they were, he knew his sister and Zuko had it much, _much_ worse.

~*~*~

None of the Fire Lords who ruled before him had been present in the same room whenever their wives or consorts had given birth.

So it came as much of a surprise to Lady Atsuno as it did the others when Zuko all but demanded to be in the room to support Katara during labor and delivery.

“Lady Atsuno,” he had said with a polite smile through gritted teeth after she denied his request yet again, “I _promise_ I won’t get in your way. I just want to be there with my wife, so she doesn’t have to go through this alone.”

“Your highness,” she had returned with a stern tone befitting a mother scolding her toddler, “you might be the Fire Lord, but this is _my_ jurisdiction. If something were to go wrong – not saying it will, but that’s always a possibility – the last thing I need to worry about is a hysterical father getting – ”

He then surprised them all by taking her hands in his, and Lady Atsuno gazed up at him in wonder.

“Please,” he said softly. “You’ll be in charge, and I’ll do exactly as you tell me, no questions asked. _Please_. Let me be there with my wife. I love her more than my own life, and I don’t want her to be scared.”

She sighed.

“You promise this, Lord Zuko? You won’t attempt to interfere, or – ”

“Please,” he begged again even quieter. “I don’t want her to be scared and alone.”

After several long, silent moments, at last she agreed with a sigh.

“Just remember,” she cautioned, “once we’re in that room, you will be relinquishing all authority to me until your children are safely delivered.”

He nodded somberly, vowing to obey her every command. Then they disappeared into the Fire Lady’s bedchambers, and no one had emerged from the room in the hours since.

~*~*~

As the sun began to peek over the horizon and illuminated the hallways of the palace with a faint golden glow, Sokka at last found himself nodding off along with the others.

No sooner had he closed his eyes and felt the sweet beckoning of sleep, though, than he was suddenly jolted awake by the sound of footsteps running down the hall towards them. He squinted as the blurry form of a nurse came into focus above him.

“Excuse me, Chief Hakoda? General Iroh?” he heard the woman call out softly, effectively rousing them all from their slumber. “I come bearing wonderful news.”

At that, Sokka sat up completely, blinking his bleary eyes until he could see clearly.

“My sister?” he asked, stifling a yawn. “How’s Katara?”

The nurse beamed down at him and the rest of the company, who were now studying her intently even as they yawned.

“She and Lord Zuko are now the proud parents to a pair of happy, healthy babies – a crown princess and prince.”

Their group let out a cheer that might have been a little too raucous to be considered proper, but they had a feeling that no one would mind too much. Besides, with a newborn princess and prince, it was unlikely the halls of the palace would stay quiet for long.

Sokka stood up and helped pull Suki to her feet as his father asked if they might go see them now, or if they would have to wait.

The nurse just barely uttered the words, “they’re all awake and ready to see you,” before she yelped and dodged to the side of the corridor.

As it was, she just barely avoided the stampede of an eager older brother tugging his fiancée along behind him, followed by the Avatar, the world’s greatest earthbender, and two extremely proud grandfathers.

~*~*~

The Fire Lord could only stare down in awe as his daughter blinked her golden eyes back up at him sleepily. She was smaller than what he was expecting, and she seemed so tiny and fragile in his arms.

Out of their two children, she resembled him the most – her tuft of hair was almost as black as his own, and while her skin was paler than her mother and brother’s, it was still a shade or two darker than his.

Zuko managed a smile, even though he wanted to gape at her in amazement, and carefully hugged her closer as she yawned.

“Hey, Zum,” he whispered, having decided upon her nickname already.

He and Katara had picked out names for both of their babies long before now, but his wife had changed her mind once their eldest daughter was born less than an hour ago.

“She doesn’t look like a Kya,” she had said, tilting her head as she examined the princess in her arms. “I mean, we can still name her that if you want, but…”

Zuko shrugged, or at least he tried to. It was made a little more difficult while holding their wiggling, fussy son, who was already proving to be a handful.

“It’s your call,” he said. “Personally, I think that would be a fine name for her, but I’ll leave it up to you.”

In the end, she chose to name their daughter in honor of the bubbling fountain in the beach house courtyard. That way, they could pay homage to her Water Tribe roots as well.

They could always name their next daughter Kya instead, she half-joked, half-reasoned.

But first things first.

Crown Princess Izumi blinked again up at her father and wrapped her tiny, soft hand around his much larger, calloused finger.

A small part of him was worried prior to today that his newborn children would be frightened of his scar and burst into tears when they saw it, but to his relief they didn’t even seem to notice the mark.

He supposed they would also be the first ones who saw it simply as an extension of him from the very beginning, not as something to recoil from in horror until they grew used to it.

The princess squeezed his finger and yawned again, and he felt his heart swelling all over again.

“That’s my girl,” he breathed, planting a delicate kiss on her forehead, as if she would shatter upon impact.

Nearby, his wife beamed as she nursed their son Tulok with assistance from the midwife. Unlike his sister, he was born ready to be loud and announced his presence by fussing constantly.

“He takes after you already,” Katara had teased, much to the Fire Lord’s chagrin. “Looks like the legacy of Prince Pouty lives on.”

“You’re worse than Sokka,” he retorted as she giggled.

Zuko settled down on the bed beside his wife and leaned over to kiss her cheek, still cradling Izumi. He murmured to Katara how proud he was of her and their babies, and how well she’d done, and she rested her head against his shoulder happily.

Once he was full and satisfied for the time being, Tulok wiggled around and extended his chubby arms out towards his father.

Katara raised her eyebrow down at their son.

“Oh, sure,” she grinned. “I literally just gave birth to you after carrying you around for nine months, but go see your daddy. I’ll remember where your loyalties lie.”

“I’m a walking, talking heater,” Zuko pointed out with a smirk. “Good luck trying to compete with that.”

She helped her husband readjust his hold on their daughter, and the Fire Lord found himself cradling both of his children, one in each arm, blinking down at both of them.

His son and daughter stared up at him, blinking in response.

“Hello ducklings,” he whispered, a grin spreading over his face when he noticed smiles forming on theirs while listening to their father’s silliness. 

While Izumi took after her father, Tulok was no doubt Katara’s child. His eyes were also golden like his father’s, but his hair and skin tone were decidedly taken from his mother.

Zuko half-listened as Lady Atsuno inquired about the meaning of their son’s name as she delicately helped bathe the Fire Lady and brushed out the knots of her hair. Katara explained that the prince was named after an ancient spirit who guarded over the Southern Water Tribe, also known as the warrior of the stars.

It was only fitting, both thought, that their children be named in remembrance of the night their parents first admitted their feelings for each other under a starlit sky, as water flowed and danced nearby.

Once Katara settled back down under the sheets, carefully scrubbed clean, she rested her head against her husband’s shoulder and wrapped her arm around his back.

She found herself beaming as he quietly spoke to their children as they gazed up at him in awe, whispering stories to them of fire and water, and how they met one night under the starlight.

~*~*~

That was how the others found them a short time later, their tiny little family curled up together in bed. They tiptoed inside the bedchambers, barely stifling squeals of joy.

Zuko exchanged a brief, tender smile with his wife before grinning up at their visitors.

“Everyone,” he said softly so as not to disturb the tiny, squirming bundles in his arms, “meet our babies.”

Iroh and Hakoda got to hold them first, of course, and both men exchanged looks of pride as they fawned over their grandson and granddaughter, passing them off to one another so they both got a turn.

“This one is quite the mischief-maker,” the old general decided with a chortle as Tulok grabbed onto his beard and tugged, refusing to let go. “I predict you will get into a fair bit of trouble, young one.”

Toph’s ears perked up at this.

“So what you’re saying is that I’ll have a partner-in-crime to corrupt when he’s older?” she asked, smirking. “Kid, your Auntie Toph is going to teach you all of the best cons – ”

Tulok’s parents rolled their eyes and answered simultaneously, cutting her off as she cackled. 

“ _No_.”

Uncle Sokka and Suki were next, and he proudly presented his miniature wooden boomerangs to both of the babies, who tried to gnaw on them at first.

“See this, Zum-Zum?” he asked, carefully rocking his niece. “Whenever your dad gets too bossy or grumpy, just toss this at the back of his head and he’ll chill out.”

Zuko scoffed and focused his attention on rubbing Katara’s lower back, heating his hands slightly to loosen the knots in her muscles.

Suddenly, their daughter started squalling from across the room, and his head whipped upwards in her direction.

His eyes narrowed, and he immediately stood up, hackles raised as he gave Sokka a truly epic death glare.

“What did you do to my daughter?” he growled. “Did you upset her?”

His brother-in-law rolled his eyes and snorted.

“Settle down, Father Lord. I made a few funny faces and she didn’t like them. She must have your sense of humor.”

Zuko remained standing and folded his arms, while Hakoda and Iroh gave him knowing smiles, all too aware of the overwhelming sense of constant vigilance that came with being a new father.

Katara reached out and patted his back reassuringly.

“Easy there,” she said, coaxing him to sit back down on the edge of the bed. “It’s sweet that you’re so protective of our babies, but don’t overdo it.”

Hakoda had told him before how he behaved as ferocious as a father wolf protecting his pups where his children were concerned, and Zuko now understood that feeling all too well.

The Fire Lord continued frowning in Sokka’s direction, who just raised his eyebrow in annoyance.

“Zum-Zum,” Sokka deadpanned, winking evilly at his brother-in-law and sister, “if your dad tries to scare off any boyfriends of yours in the future, let me know and your Uncle Sokka will help ya out.”

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. His daughter was barely a few hours old. He didn’t even want to _think_ about her dating someday.

The Avatar and Toph held the twins last of all, and immediately Aang attempted to teach both babies how to say “flameo.”

“I know you’re both way too young to talk just yet,” he babbled on in a singsong voice, “but I bet that will be your first word. Say ‘flameo,’ little hotbabies.”

He winked conspiratorially at Katara, who barely stifled laughter upon seeing the grimace on her husband’s face.

“You’re all going to be bad influences on our children, aren’t you?” Zuko grumbled, crossing his arms again. “Everyone except for their grandfathers and Suki, that is. _Ugh_.”

His wife leaned against his shoulder again and kissed his cheek, and his scowl lifted at the contact.

Well, he supposed it wasn’t all that bad as he surveyed the room, watching his son and daughter interact curiously with the others, giggling at random things that caught their attention.

If it made his children happy – _his children_ , he almost couldn’t believe it, he was a _father_ – then he supposed it couldn’t be that terrible.

~*~*~

At long last, the others took their leave, giving the new little family a much-needed break for a nap.

As he settled down in the bed curled up protectively around Katara, their babies bundled up safely in their cribs nearby, he finally allowed himself to relax.

Even though he had read countless scrolls and listened to hours of lectures on raising children, Zuko had to admit that he was still terrified on some level and had no idea what he was in for.

Nevertheless, as he rested his chin in the crook of his wife’s neck and listened to the sound of her breath slowing as she fell asleep, he felt an overwhelming sense of contentment.

All of his fears and uncertainties regarding fatherhood were problems for later in the day and the rest of his life.

Right now, this was the only thing he cared about, just the four of them resting peacefully in the darkened room, together.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun, dun, dun! We've finally reached the end, folks. This fic has been an absolute blast, and thank you all for your love and comments along the way. They've all been much appreciated.

Sokka, master swordsman, strategic genius and former ambassador to the Fire Nation had partaken in many thrilling adventures over the last few years.

He had helped the Avatar and their friends bring about the end of the Hundred Year War, for starters, and ventured nearly all over the world to places he couldn’t have even dreamed of back when he had been a child.

Over the years he had also shared his numerous ideas with other brilliant minds, leading to a steady rise in technology throughout the other nations. He had also helped develop new models of airships and several other inventions that slowly spread across the globe.

Additionally, Sokka had witnessed incredible things you couldn’t even begin to imagine, whether it was unbelievable phenomena like a fully-realized Avatar wielding all four elements, or far less flashy but no less important interactions on a smaller scale.

Take, for instance, the wedding uniting his baby sister and the Fire Lord, who also happened to be one of his best friends. Back then, a happy marriage between water and fire given their nations’ turbulent history seemed downright impossible.

That was then, however, and times had gradually started to change for the better.

Now, just over six years later, Sokka and his wife Suki had moved to a comfortable house on the outskirts of the newly constructed Republic City.

He had been appointed as a junior councilman, and she had formed a task force with several of her Kyoshi warriors, often aiding the police (who Toph clashed with on more than one occasion, truth be told).

While living in the ever-growing city could never compare to the icy cold plains of his homeland, he discovered he actually enjoyed it.

Especially since it put him in closer proximity to their friends and family.

Avatar Aang and his acolytes resided at Air Temple Island, constructed with Toph’s assistance out in Yue Bay, although he also traveled to the other air temples as well throughout the year.

Miss Beifong herself also resided in Republic City, occupied with teaching at her metalbending academy and the occasional visit to the island across the bay (strictly to visit Aang as a _friend_ , she insisted, although none of their close friends believed her for a second).

Katara and the Father Lord kept busy over in the Fire Nation, of course, although they still made time to visit the others in the city whenever they could with their adorably rambunctious twins in tow, just like they did this morning.

For this particular visit, however, the royal family was in for a surprise…

~*~*~

The Fire Lady let out a shriek of excitement when she saw her sister-in-law’s slightly rounded belly the moment they walked over the threshold inside their home. 

“You’re pregnant?!” Katara squealed. “Why didn’t you say anything in your letters?”

Suki laughed as she carefully maneuvered around Katara’s own swollen stomach. She was a couple of months further along with Princess Kya, and both women eagerly began talking about their babies and pregnancy joys and woes.

Sokka wasn’t able to focus on what they were saying however, not with his niece and nephew practically blowing out his knees and knocking the air from his lungs as they barreled into him.

“Uncle Sokka!” they exclaimed at the same time, jumping up and down excitedly.

After he quickly caught his breath again, he roared out his own greeting and scooped them both up into his arms.

They were so loud as they all but talked his ears off that he almost missed his brother-in-law’s chuckle from where he leaned against the doorway, arms folded with a radiant smile on his face.

“Better get used to it,” Zuko advised. “I swear I’ve lost some of my hearing over the years.”

Sokka laughed and set the twins down, crossing the room to give his friend a manly hug and clap on the shoulder. It had been several months since they’d last seen each other, and they had a lot of catching up to do.

But first, though, the Fire Lord would be buried in meetings for the remainder of the day, while the women would visit one of the nicer, newer spas to relax and unwind.

As for Sokka? He was happily fulfilling his obligation as an uncle (and the entire reason his niece and nephew even existed in the first place) by babysitting the twins all day long. They had a whole list of fun activities in store, and he couldn’t wait to get started.

Sure, Izumi and Tulok were a handful combined, but they were mere babes at five years old.

Just how difficult could they be?

~*~*~

Oh, he was a fool. An absolute moron.

He hadn't even taken into account that while they were still young benders, they were benders nonetheless.

Sokka found himself rushing around trying to put out the flames Izumi held in the palms of her hands, lest something catch fire, and clean up the water that Tulok threw in his face for fun, yelling out "Water Triiibe!" each blasted time.

By the time Zuko and the others returned by the end of the day, Uncle Sokka was at his wit’s end and was certainly going to be deaf once it was all over with.

The Fire Lord exchanged a knowing grin with his wife and Suki as they watched an exhausted and bedraggled uncle wearily chase after the twins.

They hadn’t made a mess of the house, but they were dancing all over his last nerve.

“Zum Zum, no, put that back, that’s not a toy – Tulok!” he squawked. “Get down from there! No, quit laughing at me, mister, you’re in big trouble!”

He huffed and turned to the others, who made no attempt to stifle their laughter.

“Mind helping me out here?” he asked with no small amount of exasperation.

Zuko shook his head, smirking.

“Remember that morning we found out Katara was pregnant with the twins, and the terrible, horrible things you said to me in her antechamber?” he replied. “Consider this your payback.”

Sokka groaned and wiped his hand down his face. He took it all back. The twins were far too much for one man to handle on his own.

Foolish didn’t even begin to describe how mistaken he had been earlier.

He absolutely loved his niece and nephew, but he was completely _drained_ and wanted nothing more than to curl up in a nice, quiet corner and sleep for the next year.

“Are you _still_ mad about that?” he groaned. “Come on, man, that was years ago…”

He glanced down at Izumi, who was tugging on the edge of his shirt.

“Yes, Zum Zum? What is it?”

“Uncle Sokka? What did you do?” she asked, blinking up at him with those sweet golden eyes and a snaggle-toothed smile.

Before he could respond, however, his nephew jumped onto his back and nearly knocked him over. Sokka would have let out a screech of shock, but he was pretty sure that he was going to lose his voice, too, from fussing at them all day (not that they had listened, anyways. If anything, his scolding had only encouraged them).

Sweet, glorious Yue in the sky, he was _exhausted_.

“I was mean to your daddy, Zum Zum, and I’m still paying for it,” he grumbled.

Then he let out a loud squeal as Tulok started pulling on his hair and outright screamed in his ear to get his attention.

Yep, he was _definitely_ going to be deaf by the morning.

Finally, Zuko let out a loud whistle, and both of the twins immediately settled down and rushed to stand before their father, smiling up at him cherubically.

Funny. One could easily forget how boisterous those two were with their innocent grins plastered on their faces. 

“Now, Tulok and Zum, from now on you need to settle down and listen to what your Uncle Sokka says,” he told them calmly. “I want you to be on your best behavior, just like you are back home. Understood?”

“Yes sir!” they chirped.

“We’ll be good,” Tulok added enthusiastically. “I promise, Daddy.”

Zuko nodded in approval.

“That’s my boy,” he said proudly. “Now, what do you say to your Uncle Sokka for babysitting you today?”

“Thank you!” they chorused, rushing over to give their beleaguered uncle another hug.

Sokka sighed and hugged them back.

If entertaining (and being terrorized by) his precious niece and nephew was punishment for him drinking that stupid cup of contraceptive tea and threatening the Fire Lord with horrific dismemberment once he learned of Katara’s pregnancy…

… well, there were worse things to endure, he supposed.

Plus, he had never touched anyone else’s cup of tea since then.

Ohhh, no. He was a fool at times, but he had certainly learned his lesson the hard way.

~*~*~

Later that evening, they exchanged good nights and made their plans to meet up the next morning for a visit to the city.

Well, the others did, anyways. Sokka sprawled out on his and Suki’s couch, clutching a pillow as if shellshocked, and he wondered if the ringing in his ears would stop soon.

He managed to stand up to hug them both once they left, though, and he was surprised when Katara handed her brother a small box from one of the shops in the city. Zuko stood nearby, holding both twins in each arm as they slept soundly with their heads resting on his shoulders.

“Consider this compensation for being such a good sport today,” he told Sokka with a wink. “There’s some ginger tea to help with Suki’s morning sickness, plus a few treats just for you, courtesy of your sister and I.”

After they left, he eagerly tore into the box, practically shredding it in the process.

“Well?” Suki asked, leaning over to peek inside once it was opened. “What did they get you?”

Sokka stared at the box’s contents for several moments in silence and finally let out a loud snort.

“They think they’re funny,” he said, trying hard not to smile and failing miserably. “A real pair of jokesters, those two are. Ha, ha, ha. Nice one, guys.”

He passed the smaller container of ginger tea over to his wife before holding up a handwritten note from the Fire Lord himself, which he read aloud.

_Sokka,_

_Congratulations on your upcoming bundle of joy! We couldn’t be happier for both you and Suki, and we know you’ll be amazing parents. If there’s anything you two need at all, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’ll be more than happy to answer any parenthood questions you may have, and we know the twins and baby Kya can’t wait to meet their new cousin._

_Anyways, it occurred to us both that if it hadn’t been for you, the twins wouldn’t even be here. So, we wanted to give you a special gift to thank you for our souvenirs we brought back from Ember Island. Besides, I believe I owe you a cup of tea._

_Cheers,_ _Zuko_

Suki read over the letter once he was finished and grinned wildly.

“What did they give you?” she asked.

Sokka reached inside and held up his own presents, rolling his eyes good naturedly as his wife burst into giggles.

In one hand was a massive bag of fire flakes, and unlike the ones from that fateful last morning at the beach house, these were definitely not expired.

And in the other hand was a small box of delectable-smelling tea, very clearly labeled _“Licorice Root – NOT silphium, Sokka. You can drink this one. – Z.”_

“I’m going to kill him,” he declared, standing up. “But first, I’m going to _finally_ have my fire flakes and that cup of licorice root tea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada! Once again, thank you all so much for your comments. This fic was so much fun to write, and I'm sad that it's over. 
> 
> But now, I can finally get back to my other ongoing fic about Izumi, and maybe even write something for Zutara Drabble December. I've already got something written and saved in my drafts for the Day 19 prompt, which means I've got to wait 2 more weeks before posting it. Blargh. 
> 
> Anywho, thanks again for reading! Hope you've enjoyed this fic as much as I have!


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